Many students live too far to bike or walk to school since on-campus housing is not available. There are several opportunities for alternative transportation to get to school. The college even has methods of its own, which were highlighted at a recent Commuter Fair, held by Student Senate.

At this Commuter Fair, alternative methods of transportation such as the shuttle, Madison Metro, and Rideshare were emphasized.

Student Shuttle

For residents of the downtown Madison area, a viable alternative is to take advantage of the shuttle program created by the Student Senate. This option allows students to receive campus-to-campus shuttles from the Downtown campus to the Truax campus (or vice versa). To utilize this program, current degree-credit students may ride for free by displaying their OneCard to the driver.

Gavin Folgert, a third semester graphic design student at Madison Area Technical College has taken the shuttle. He rode the shuttle from the Truax campus to the downtown campus and said it only took about 15 to 20 minutes.

“I just showed my OneCard and they let me on,” Folgert said. “I used it once. It was nice. It was a comfy bus. I think I fell asleep about halfway through so I don’t remember all of it.”

The shuttle runs from 7 a.m. to 5:20 p.m. Monday through Friday. Departures from the downtown campus to the Truax campus leave the Dayton St. entrance on the hour starting at 7 a.m. and ending at 5 p.m. Departures from the Truax campus to the Downtown campus leave the south side entrance (by the cafeteria and Administration building) on the half hour starting at 7:30 a.m. and ending at 4:30 p.m.

Metro Transit Bus

Another popular commuting option to Madison College is by means of the Metro Transit bus. A $25 fee for a bus pass is automatically added to each student’s account to support the student-run para-transit program. To obtain a bus pass for this semester, students may visit the Truax campus Welcome Center and show their OneCard. Folgert takes a 40 minute bus ride from his home near Madison West High School to the Truax campus four days out of each week. He most often times rides the bus to commute to and from campus.

“There’s an occasional trip to State Street or something,” he added.

To plan which route to take from the nearest bus stop to campus, Folgert uses the online Madison Metro Transit Trip Planner, found on the Madison Metro website. This trip planner allows any individual to find the best bus route to their destination by entering in their starting and ending points, the date and time of arrival or departure, and a personal preference of a trip with the shortest trip time, walking distance or number of transfers. Folgert has only one issue with the bus route to Truax from his house.

“The bus gets here like three minutes before class and it usually runs a couple minutes late, so I have to take a bus that’s an hour earlier just to be here on time,” he said.

For detailed information on the city of Madison’s Metro Transit, visit www.cityofmadison.com/metro.

Rideshare

For students who drive themselves to class, Rideshare will match students with other students within a reasonable distance. Rideshare is a carpool service. Whoever who uses this needs to be willing to plan a rotation system in order to split driving time with one another.

Usually these people are not looking for any form of compensation, but would like to split the duty of driving to campus with one or more students. It also works with individuals who do not own cars but choose not to or are unable to take the bus. These people chip in for gas money in exchange for a ride to or from class.

“It’s not as reliable as a bus, but, I mean, it’s faster and I think that’s worth it right there,” Folgert said.

By registering on the rideshare website, an email will be sent to you with a list of people looking for or offering rides to the Truax campus. This website will even find “bike buddies” for those who prefer not to bike alone.

Register for free on www.rideshareetc.org.

Driving a Moped

Lastly, if you are firm on driving you and only you to class, an even cheaper route than driving a car is driving a moped. The initial investment to buy a moped can quickly pay off when taking into consideration how many less miles per gallon mopeds use versus cars. Even the popular Toyota Prius won’t beat a moped. At 80 to 120 miles per gallon, more and more mopeds are showing up on the streets of Madison.

Another reason to invest in a moped is those who drive mopeds to the Truax campus do not have to pay for a parking permit. There are free bicycle racks located near the entrances for use as moped parking.

A moped dealership was highlighted at the Commuter Fair. It is a local dealership called Scooter Therapy Inc. Browse their website, www.scootertherapy.com for more information. They are located at 12 N. Few St.