Possible changes to UW-Madisonâ??s parking and transportation services â?? including a proposal to charge UW-Madisonâ??s 20,000 employees to ride the bus â?? could have far-reaching consequences for the campus and city. About one year into the job, UW-Madison transportation director Patrick Kass announced this spring that he needs to make drastic changes or else raise parking rates considerably in order to cover an annual budget deficit of roughly $1 million. One proposal is to begin charging UW-Madison employees between $50 and $150 per year for city bus passes, which have been free for the past seven years. Thatâ??s because the university, which spends about $1.5 million per year on employee bus fare, is facing an expected 21 percent cost increase from Metro Transit.
Office of Strategic Communication