Sun Prairie to join Madison Metro’s Bus Rapid Transit system

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - The City of Sun Prairie will see an expansion to its bus services with new routes set to go into effect this June.

The Sun Prairie City Council gave final approval for the city to join the Madison Metro’s Bus Transit system on Tuesday.

Former chair of the Sun Prairie transit commission Al Guyant said efforts for new bus routes go back over a decade.

“I’m super excited when you work 10 years to lead an effort and you finally get it done, you feel validated,” Guyant said. “You feel like I really did something important in life.

The new routes will ultimately replace Route 23, the Madison Metro route that currently operates in Sun Prairie.

“There will be jobs (people) will be able to get to that they couldn’t get to before because they didn’t have a way to get into town,” Guyant said.

The S route will loop around the city, while the W route will serve the current and future users of Route 23.

“We talked to a lot of stakeholders throughout our community, ranging from the school district to our economic development partners, to to our housing partners,” Sun Prairie transportation coordinator Alexander Brown said. “Making sure that we were considering comparatively disadvantaged communities within Sun Prairie as well to make sure the route serves them.”

Brown said there still may be obstacles to overcome between now and June.

“Any change is going to come with some growing pains and we’re working to anticipate that,” Brown said. “But, the reaction that we’ve gotten has been overwhelmingly positive.”

Guyant said Sun Prairie residents are excited for what’s to come.

“They’re thrilled with it, and they’re very thankful,” Guyant said. “My neighbors have been very thankful for this effort.”

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