City of Madison
Metro Transit
Metro 60-ft articulated bus shown in a park.

North-South BRT Line

Project Overview

Updated November 2025

The north-south Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) will provide high-quality, fast, reliable service from north Madison to Fitchburg, WI. Offering better connections, and upgraded features to Route B, such as: 

  • 9.1 Miles of new bus lanes 
  • 23 Raised bus stations 
  • Accessibility features 
  • Safe pedestrian crossings 
  • Transit signal priority

The project included an environmental review and a public involvement process to inform preliminary and final designs prior to construction.

Rapid Route B map and bus stops.

Click to expand the map.

About the Project

The initial Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project planning began in 2012, following the opening of the East–West service for Rapid Route A in September 2024. The next phase of the project brings BRT enhancements to Madison's North-South corridor.

Project Timeline

  1. System Planning

  2. Project Development & Environmental Review

  3. Final Design & Engineering

  4. Construction

  5. North-South BRT Service Begins

Project Funding

The final design and construction costs will be primarily funded through a federal grant, with additional funding to support project completion. Project staff are coordinating with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for project readiness.

  • 65-70% Federally funded by the Construction Investment Grant Program
  • The reminder will be funded by a variety of local sources

Public Involvement

Public and stakeholder involvement are central to this project. The public involvement process utilizes a wide range of tools, including public meetings, surveys, outreach event tabling, and other effective methods proven to ensure the final designs are informed by the community. A summary of feedback and responses to feedback are included below. 

A summary of public involvement to date is available in the Summary of Public and Stakeholder Involvement. This document was last updated in February 2026 and will be updated periodically as the project progresses.

  • Upcoming Meetings

    No additional meetings are scheduled at this time.
    Please check back for updates.

Several public meetings have been held to share updates and provide additional details about the project:

Past Meeting Presentations & Recordings

Public Involvement Round 1: Fall 2023 (Project Kickoff) 

Public Involvement Round 2: Spring 2024 (Locally Preferred Alternative)

Public Involvement Round 3: Spring 2025 (Preliminary Design)

Update to the Transportation Commission: Fall 2025 (Preliminary Design Updates)

Presentations

How Public Engagement is Shaping the Design
WHAT WE HEARD WHAT WE ARE DOING 
Safety concerns pedestrians and cyclists, especially at crossings, near stations, and along Park Street Incorporating additional pedestrian safety measures, coordinated with Vision Zero guidance, and refined station and crossing designs to improve access and protection—including adding two new traffic signals at Burr Oak and Cedar Streets, reducing unprotected left-turn movements, adding an off-street path along S. Park Street, making improvements at Park Street and Fish Hatchery Road, and improving visibility at all station crossings 
Desire for stronger bike facilities and connectivity along the corridor Improving connections to parallel bike routes and adding an off-street path on S. Park Street from Badger Road to Fish Hatchery Road. 
Concerns about losing parking for businesses, customers, and deliveries Conducted targeted outreach and analysis; retaining parking on Park Street southbound between Vilas Avenue and Erin Street where off-street parking and loading is insufficient. In addition, the project will include off-peak parking in the right-hand travel lane between Cedar Street and Fish Hatchery Road.
Requests for additional or adjusted station locations and shorter walking distancesReviewed spacing and are adding two additional stations while maintaining industry-standard spacing for BRT performance. The project adjusted the station locations to provide a station at Cedar Street based on public input.
Interest in BRT service to the airport and alternative northside routing (e.g., Sherman Avenue) Evaluated alternatives and are maintaining the recommended northside routing established through the Transit Network Redesign (2023) based on ridership, travel time, and operational efficiency.
Concerns about routing on Hughes Place near the S. Park Street / W. Badger Road area Refined the southside alignment by shifting the route off Hughes Place to W. Badger Road, while keeping a station location on S. Park Street near Hughes Place to maintain access and support a more pedestrian-friendly station environment.
Desire to maximize the use of bus lanes to improve transit travel times Maximizing center-running dedicated bus lanes where feasible, incorporating transit signal priority and queue jumps, while striking the right balance between transit, parking, and other travel modes.
Concerns about vehicle conflicts and dedicated lane enforcementRefined lane configurations and intersection designs to clarify movements and reduce potential conflicts; existing bus rapid transit lanes have high compliance.
Desire to retain side-running shared bus-bike lanes in Fitchburg to maintain on-street bike facility Evaluated alternatives, including original recommendation for center-running lanes and stations in Fitchburg; design now retaining side-running shared bus-bike lanes which will both maintain an on-street bike facility and reduce project costs. 
Desire to extend project south to Fitchburg Civic Campus Project and operating funds do not allow this extension, but Metro and the City of Fitchburg continue to explore options to fund this extension in the future. 
Maintain as many left turns as possible along the corridor The project is evaluating designs that maintain left turns to Vilas Avenue and Cedar Street, recognizing the need to balance safety, transit operations, and traffic flow.
Complaints about the lack of a shelter at the East Campus Route B station on University Avenue A shelter is planned to be added with the North-South BRT project. 

Questions & Feedback

Share your questions or feedback at brt@cityofmadison.com

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Articulated electric bus charging at a bus station.

Questions & Feedback