Hearing only the rushing of the afternoon traffic, students sit with headphones in their ears and eyes glued to their phones. A Madison College shuttle pulls up and, with a smile on her face, the driver slides opens the doors.

For many Madison College students, the shuttle service provided by the school has created a cheaper and less stressful transportation alternative to the school’s campuses. For example, Madison College student Gavin Jery lives downtown and chooses to take the shuttle instead of driving his own car. Jery mentions the convenience the shuttle provides outweighs the additional costs and time it takes to drive himself.

The shuttle schedule has had three big modifications for this year which will make the shuttle service more accessible for many students. A shuttle will now travel directly between the South Campus and Truax, as well as the West Campus and Truax. Madison College will also add a transport to and from Sun Prairie for the Sun Prairie High School students who are enrolled in Madison College courses.

Student Senate advisor Jacquelyn Dahlke explained that although the shuttle may not reach everyone in need, the changes were made to benefit the most people possible.

Changes to the college’s facilities and campuses go hand-in-hand with shuttle schedule changes. When large facilities, such as the health building, changed locations, the shuttles responded to that. “In our world,” said Dahlke, “no news is good news.”
Roughly 1,800 Madison College students live on the south side of Madison, and to create more fairness among the students’ transportation access, a direct shuttle from the South Campus to Truax was created.

As of Sept. 5, approximately 15 high school students from Sun Prairie are transported daily to Truax for the Fire Service program. In addition to taking students back at noon, the shuttle service, Lamers, has agreed to make another trip to Sun Prairie at 6 p.m. for students who take afternoon courses.

Dahlke explains that Madison College tries its hardest to make the shuttle schedule applicable to everyone’s’ needs, but with doing so, they would like to see more riders.

Many think that “taking the bus” is lame and not something they would be interested in, when really, it could be saving them precious time and hundreds of dollars in gas.

So save your sanity, as you will no longer have to fight through parking lots trying to find a stall, sit in rush hour traffic and give people the finger when they cut you off. Grab a shuttle schedule and find the route that works best for you.
To obtain information on the shuttle schedule and when you can hop on for a stress-free ride, visit https://madisoncollege.edu/campus-shuttle.