Madison Metro


Madison Metro Transit operates a bus service throughout the city of Madison, Wisconsin, United States and most of its immediate suburbs, including the Town of Madison, the City of Middleton, Fitchburg, Maple Bluff, Shorewood Hills, Sun Prairie, Verona, and a small portion of McFarland. System-wide, fixed route ridership was 13,385,628 in 2018. Metro Transit also provides supplemental transit services to some Madison middle and high schools. Several schools have switched to yellow buses in 2019. These routes are open to the general public, but have been designed to provide additional services during peak school times. Metro also serves the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus, Eagle Heights University apartments, and some off-campus residential areas, via routes 80, 81, 82, and 84. The "80 routes" are free of charge.
Metro also connects with suburban mass transit services, such as the Monona Lift/Monona Express and Sun Prairie Shared Taxi Shuttle.

Route network

The route network focuses on hubs at the Capitol Square in downtown Madison and four major transfer points in outer parts of Madison. Core all day routes "pulse" at the transfer points every 30 to 60 minutes and are supplemented by an overlay of commuter service. Many routes serve downtown Madison and the University of Wisconsin Madison where transit use is high.
The most recent service update reflected in this article went into effect in August 2013. Significant changes include the restructuring of Routes 9 and 10, significant changes to Route 18, and the introduction of several new routes in east Madison - Routes 31, 33, and 35. Route 85 was consolidated into Route 80 in August 2012 as a result of a UW budget shortfall.

Routes

In the table below, "Via" refer to different patterns the same route may take. For example, "Route 6 via Hayes" means that the bus will travel on the Hayes loop before reaching the West Transfer Point or East Towne Mall - other Route 6 trips may travel "via MATC".

Regular routes

Peak-only routes

Weekend-only routes

All routes in this section are fare free. Operating costs are paid by Associated Students of Madison, UW Transportation Services, and University Housing. When UW–Madison is out of session, route 80 service is reduced and routes 81-84 do not run.
Proposed changes for the 2020-2021 academic year include an expansion of route 84 and shifting of routes 80, 81, and 82.