Hybrid buses come to campus

Two of Wisconsin’s first hybrid electric-powered buses will be in service on campus soon.

The university and Metro Transit worked together to bring five GM-Allison hybrid buses to Madison. The university paid $200,000, the local share of the cost for its buses.

Chancellor John Wiley and Mayor Dave Cieslewicz unveiled the buses at a Sept. 11 news conference held at the Arboretum.

The new buses are expected to reduce fuel consumption and emissions, provide smoother acceleration and improve braking, and they may even be quieter.

The university’s buses have a new seating arrangement that will provide more standing room and make it easier for passengers to move through the aisle. There are more aisle-facing seats, and the rear doors are wider than those on the current buses.

“With the UW routes experiencing 80 to 90 passenger trips per hour, the additional space will allow more customers to ride at a given time,” Wiley noted.

The university’s buses also feature a UW paint scheme and Badger red seats. Paid advertisements have already been sold for all five of the new hybrids.

Each bus bears the words “Hybrid-electric bus — conserving fuel and protecting the environment.”

Notes to riders: Metro Transit has temporarily closed the new bus stop at the corner of Charter and West Johnson streets for safety and scheduling reasons. Pavement markings warning drivers that buses in the right lane turn left onto Johnson are not yet in place, and that has caused some problems at the intersection. Riders are advised to use the stop on West Johnson at Mills Street or the stop on Charter Street between Linden Drive and University Avenue.

The eastbound stop on Linden Drive behind the Medical Sciences Center has been closed permanently. Rob Kennedy of Transportation Services says eliminating it will streamline the route a bit. There are two other stops in that block, one at Henry Mall and the other at Charter and Linden.

Route 80 buses have been getting behind schedule in spite of an additional bus that was put into service two months early. Pedestrian congestion at class change times and construction projects have been major factors in the delays.