lakennedy, van galder offers service from Janesville to Madison (either the park & ride or UW campus at Memorial Union). 1 way ticket costs $6. You can also get a 10 pack of tickets for $5 each, or a "semester" pack (with over 100 tickets I think) for $4 each.

I definetely found the vanpool program to be cheaper, but between driving my own car and taking the van galder it was hard to say for myself. At the time, cost of gas was cheaper than taking the bus for my car (which got 30mpg), but then there's the extra miles put on the car which is hard to figure. Before the vanpool I found it cheaper to drive into the Colosium area, park, and take the metro in from there (because I had a free metro pass). I would just park in the colosium bar parking lot and nobody ever complained (there is no sign saying parking for customers only). But now that I look at the prices I guess it would be cheaper to take the bus now. I'm sure Van Galder will raise their rates soon then.

And I agree with others, I don't think the taxpayers should pay for any proposed rail, only those who actually use it. And because no private company is trying to do this, I guess it doesn't make economical sense.

Seabee - BOHICA? Do you also listen to the Jim Rome Show?
Anyway, I agree with the comments about the gov't running mass transit. Many would be taxed so a limited few could or would take advantage of it. Very efficient.

lakenedy, greyhoud does not provide service from janesville to madtown, but i believe van galder does

Historical note: There's a plaque down at the Janesville bus transfer station that talks about a system of electrically powered cable cars that connected Janesville, Beloit and Rockford, where people could make connections to Chicago. If I'm recalling the years correctly, the system opened in 1902 and was abandoned in 1930.

Does anyone know (not to get off the topic, here) how much a greyhound ticket costs from Janesville to Madison?

Mass transit is not the answer out here in the boondocks. It won't be able to support itself, meaning BOHICA! as if we don't get screwed with taxes in this state enough. I recently road a greyhound from Harrisburg PA to Chicago. That is a form of mass transit and I must say, riding in a bus with the dregs of society is an experience I never want to re-live. I should have dropped the extra $120 for a plane ticket.
Another consideration, since no private company would take on the the likely failure of a rail system for Rock County, that means the government will run it. Doesn't that just make you feel all warm and fuzzy?? Besides delivering mail, taxing you into the poor house, or killing people, what does our government do well?

Regarding Europe being "ahead" of us in mass transit, it's not necessarily that they had better foresight, it just makes more sense for them. Believe it or not, there is a very good reason why mass transit has progressed slower in the USA, it's because we are more spread out. With a lower population density and more spread out locations to travel to, driving a car in many cases makes more sense.

Having said that, I wouldn't mind a rail between Janesville and Madison for selfish reasons (I also drive in the vanpool program), but it all depends on who's going to pay for it: those who use it (ok with me), or everyone (not necessarily ok with me).

luvdasea....your last sentence was RIGHT ON THE MONEY "no pun intended". european countries have had a good rail system for years but i respectfully disagree with the statement that they have good foresight. when you visit europe you will notice how much it seems 100 years or so behind in their inferstructure. so much of their GNP goes to their entitlement programs that they have little left over to spend otherwise. they have also been consumed by muslims and have totally lost control of their own governments.
please don't take offence at my observations i'm sharing with you. thank you for sharing yours!

lakennedy: The list of vans and routes is at http://www.doa.state.wi.us/deo/vpriders..... My mom used to use that, and was even a driver for a while, when she worked at Hill Farms.

jviers,

Where can I get information about the van transit system you used? I commute to Madison everyday, and am (obviously) spending a lot.

A mass transit system is definitley worth considering. It was worth considering ten years ago, I'd say. Better late than never...

I worked in Madison up until a few weeks ago, and with gas prices as high as they are, it got expensive. I started using the state vanpool service a year and half ago, and it saved me about $200 a month. I love the idea of regional mass transit, and with high participation, this could not only save a lot of folks some money, but also help keep energy consumption down. I really hope this gets some legs and goes somewhere in the near future.

Europe is way a head of us. They've been using mass transit for years since their gas prices have been high for years.
I think the good ol' U.S. of A. should watch what happens across the pond ....they seem to have good foresight. We Americans think we are so rich we can keep doing what we've been doing...spend money we don't have, and drive big vehicles that consume way too much gas.

I worked for a year in Chicago while living in Janesville. (There are a number of people from Rock and Jefferson coutnies who ride the train.) We drove to Harvard to ride the train. Sen. Robson has been working on getting the the Metra to extend service into Wisconsin. One issue is the quality of the rails. Extending the service would be a plus!

Personally, I would love the opportunity to take a train places. But if it is just bus service, it does nothing for me.