Business needs people. People need #publictransit.

Public transit is vital to Wausau area's future: "Local businesses in towns without current bus service, such as Rib Mountain, are also speaking up. They tell us that transit service is needed so job applicants can get to interviews and so current employees can get to work. In addition, municipalities that previously had bus service but no longer do are realizing the impact of its loss. The Rothschild Village President recently reported that residents are moving out of Rothschild due to the lack of bus service."

Wis. has increasing number of repeat OWI offenders

"LA CROSSE, Wis. (WKBT) -
A new investigation finds Wisconsin has a growing problem with getting repeat operating while intoxicated offenders off the road."

With cars, if it's not one thing, it's two things. Time to admit that the system just does not work. If all the violations were aggressively prosecuted, there would be few people left able to go to work. Implementing free transit would reduce and eventually eliminate this problem.

Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, car culture harmful to young people

Channel3000.com: "“We've got to address it before it gets locked into place, and the real issue is gangs are created because there are needs that are not being met for children in the community,” Esser said. “And we want to get at those needs.”

Many youths in the community feel access to public transportation is a way for them to get to jobs and stay out of trouble."

Business wants #publictransit, but has to fight the oil industry to get it

jsonline : ""This is an investment," said Michael Schipper, deputy general manager for engineering and project management at the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority. "We invested in our community."

Schipper said investing in a bus rapid transit route allowed the Euclid Ave. corridor to experience an economic revival in the past seven years. The project, which cost $200 million, has spurred $6.3 billion in investment, according to his department's estimates. And compared with its predecessor, more people are using the line by choice rather than necessity, he said.

While Minneapolis has experienced a resurgence due in part to its investment in rail and bus infrastructure, the progress did not come without resistance, said David Frank, the city's director of economic development.

"As we talk about transit investments, there's no place where it's a walk in the park," he said. "You have to persevere."

Both Frank and Schipper said businesses are often the ones pushing for these projects because it helps attract a younger generation of workers who want the choice to use public transit instead of a car for commuting."



'via Blog this'

City of Brookfield and company to take a closer look at public transportation options

brookfieldnow.com: "The city of Brookfield is joining forces with allies to explore the possibility of increasing the community's public transportation options.

Last month, city and county officials expressed concern with the lack of convenient ways for potential employees from outside the Brookfield area to get to and from retail and restaurant jobs along the Bluemound Road Corridor.

Now, the city plans to meet with Visit Brookfield officials as well as local businesses in order to discuss rising concerns about the lack of ample public transportation for bringing employees to the area."

The Greater Milwaukee Foundation Offers Free MCTS Rides for EVERYONE on April 28th

ridemcts.com : "Rides on all MCTS buses will be free for everyone on April 28, 2015 thanks to the Greater Milwaukee Foundation. The rides are part of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s centennial Gift to the Community.

As part of celebrating 100 years of service, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation is providing Gifts to the Community to showcase resources that contribute to greater Milwaukee’s vitality. April’s gift recognizes the value of transit to the region’s economy and quality of life."

Support public transportation this Earth Day

John Finkler : Wsj: "Public transportation operators and advocates from throughout Wisconsin will lobby at the state Capitol on Wednesday. They couldn't have picked a better day to visit their legislators. Not coincidentally, Wednesday also is the 45th anniversary of Earth Day.

Former Wisconsin Gov. Gaylord Nelson is the founder of Earth Day. If only Nelson was still governor, public transportation representatives would have a much easier day of lobbying. Public transportation would not only have a friend in high places, it would have a forceful advocate for the environmental-friendly work they do every day.

The 2015-17 state budget proposed by Gov. Scott Walker is 180 degrees opposite from the plan Gov. Nelson would have given the Legislature.

Walker has held down funding of public transportation despite increased demand for it.

The state that gave us the founder of Earth Day can do much better. Making funding for public transportation a priority would be a great place to start.

-- John Finkler, Middleton"

Milwaukee Transit Riders Union: #publictransit cheaper than roads

Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service: "Bill Sell, Milwaukee Transit Riders Union: Of course it’s an economic development tool. Those folks who don’t ride do not see the packed buses during rush hours. Riders reduce our state and national dependence on fossil fuel, and cost the government much less to support than building and rebuilding concrete roadways. Transit is the lower-cost solution to our transportation needs."

Robert Wolfe: Millennials and boomers need better public transit

madison.com : "For all you econ majors out there: Supply and demand for Madison Metro is in a state of disequilibrium. There is sizable and increasing demand for the service but the proportionate increase in supply, which depends on funding from the state government, remains a political talking point, "

Car culture pain in Wisconsin

Taxes, transportation major themes at our public forums: "“If you’re not a driver, you’re a second-class citizen. That’s what it feels like,” said William Bublitz, who said he’s been yelled at by drivers for walking on roads that don’t have sidewalks."

Why Urban Jobs Can Mean Better Public Transport

Care2 Causes: "Cities like Milwaukee, for example, are experiencing an influx of new urban residents and an uptick in job growth. Another city where this is particularly well-illustrated is San Francisco, where tech firms are relocating downtown from their traditional Silicon Valley locations and tech workers are following them, though the consequence is a painfully tight rental market as a result of housing shortages.

In the long term, though, urban growth represents a number of advantages, including the possibility of upward mobility for low-income Americans, better environmental policy as suburban regions become less appealing, and a reduction in car ownership as the need for long commutes ends and people live where they work. And that’s what Ben Adler at Grist is particularly interested in, because when populations at urban hubs boom, so by extension does public transit."

La Crosse, Wisconsin, paving paradise

lacrossetribune : "With one north-south artery, Lang Drive, running through the La Crosse River marsh -- and an electorate that soundly rejected a proposed second road through the marsh -- La Crosse officials were reluctant to sign on to a study by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, which wants the city to agree to go along with the final recommendation before the DOT will study ways to alleviate congestion on the cities three main north-south roads: Lang Drive, Hwy. 16 and Rose Street."

Waunakee, WI, #freetransit a "godsend"

County grant to offer seniors transport options - The Waunakee Tribune: Regional: "Four times a week, 96-year-old Sun Prairie resident Beulah Muchlemann gets on the bus to take the short trip to the Colonial Club.
Since she stopped driving more than 10 years ago, the free service has been a godsend, allowing her to go play cards, socialize with friends, and get a noontime lunch."

Young people find sprawl unnattractive