Madison: Metro Transit Service dropped the Madison from their title about 5 years ago. And for good reason as they continue to expand into the areas surrounding Madison.

The buses already run to Fitchburg, Middleton, and the Town of Madison. A commuter route to Verona will start this fall, and a route to Sun Prairie is being developed for 2006.

And now a survey is being developed to see if Metro should expand to the village of Oregon.

Village Trustee Hans Noeldner says commuter buses will help with congestion on Highway 14. "When I look at the stream of cars on Highway 14, I used to be one of them. In and out every day, often one person per vehicle."

Noeldner says he would start small. "I would guess a bus or two to start out with. I think the important thing is to start out with something and see what the demand is."

Metro Transit General Manager Catherine Debo says there are state and federal grants available to help pay for the service. "What we will do for Oregon, which we have done for Verona and will do for Sun Prairie, is to assist them in obtaining some state funds."

Both the Verona and Sun Prairie commuter buses will connect to city transfer points, but an Oregon bus might head straight downtown.

"Oregon has a lot of people that work on the isthmus for the state government or for the university," says Noeldner.

"They may be more interested, rather than connecting at the south transfer point, in going directly to the university and or downtown," says Debo.

Noeldner says they will form a committee to study the issue, and find out how much interest is there for Oregon to join the Metro community.

Debo says the earliest service to Oregon could start would be the fall of 2007.