The Badger Bus is an intercity bus service operating mainly in Wisconsin [1] [2] by Badger Coaches, Inc. It also offers charters and tours, [3] and operates school buses under contract.
Founded in 1920 by Herman E. Meier to provide service between Madison and Monroe, Wisconsin, the company expanded after it was granted permission in 1946 to provide service between Madison and Milwaukee. [4] The company may have also been known as Badger Tour and Travel.
In 2023, Badger Bus lost a contract with the Madison Metropolitan School District to transport its students in school buses. [5]
Badger Bus mainly provides intercity service from Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Madison, Wisconsin. Badger Bus also provides weekend service from Madison to Minneapolis, Whitewater, and Eau Claire. [2]
As of 2015, Badger Bus has 140 vehicles with a combined capacity of 7,000 people. [6] : 37
The Badger Bus fleet consists of several buses:
Wisconsin is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north.
Milwaukee is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is the 31st most populous city in the United States, the fifth-largest city in the Midwest, and the largest city in the state of Wisconsin.
Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-largest in the U.S. Madison is named for American Founding Father and President James Madison.
La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population as of the 2020 census was 52,680. The city forms the core of and is the principal city in the La Crosse–Onalaska Metropolitan Area, which includes all of La Crosse County and Houston County, Minnesota, with a population of 139,627.
Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport is a civil–military airport 5 nautical miles south of downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2023–2027, in which it is categorized as a medium-hub primary commercial service facility. Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport covers 2,180 acres (880 ha) and has five asphalt and concrete runways.
The Wisconsin Badgers are the athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level, primarily competing in the Big Ten Conference for all sports since the 1896–97 season. The women's ice hockey team competes in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA), while the men's crew team compete in the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges (EARC).
Camp Randall Stadium is an outdoor stadium in Madison, Wisconsin, located on the campus of the University of Wisconsin. It has been the home of the Wisconsin Badgers football team in rudimentary form since 1895, and as a fully functioning stadium since 1917. It is the oldest and fifth largest stadium in the Big Ten Conference. The field has a conventional north–south alignment, at an approximate elevation of 880 feet (270 m) above sea level.
The Hiawatha Service, or simply Hiawatha, is an 86-mile (138 km) train route operated by Amtrak on the western shore of Lake Michigan between Chicago, Illinois and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. However, the name was historically applied to several different routes that extended across the Midwest and to the Pacific Ocean. As of 2007, twelve to fourteen trains run daily between Chicago and Milwaukee, making intermediate stops in Glenview, Illinois, Sturtevant, Wisconsin, and Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport. The line is partially supported by funds from the state governments of Wisconsin and Illinois. The line utilizes the CPKC Railway's C&M Subdivision and Metra's Milwaukee District North Line.
Amtrak Thruway is a system of through-ticketed transportation services to connect passengers with areas not served by Amtrak trains. In most cases these are dedicated motorcoach routes, but can also be non-dedicated intercity bus services, transit buses, vans, taxis, ferry boats and commuter rail trains.
The Kohl Center is an arena and athletic center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, United States. The building, which opened in 1998, is the home of the university's men's basketball and ice hockey teams, and the women's basketball team. It also housed the university's women's ice hockey team through 2012, after which they moved into the adjacent LaBahn Arena. Seating capacity is variable, as the center can be rearranged to accommodate a basketball court, a hockey rink, or a concert. The maximum capacity is 17,287 in its basketball configuration, and 15,359 for ice hockey. The center has three levels, with the floor holding about 7,500 people, and the two upper balconies about 4,500 each. It is the second largest indoor venue in Wisconsin and the largest outside Milwaukee. The arena is located on the southeast corner of the UW–Madison campus, at the intersection of West Dayton and North Frances Streets.
James Andrew Leonhard is an American football coach and former player. He's currently a senior football analyst at Illinois. Leonhard played college football at Wisconsin and professionally as safety for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Leonhard was signed by the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2005 after playing college football at the University of Wisconsin. He also played for the Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, Denver Broncos, New Orleans Saints, and Cleveland Browns.
Wisconsin Coach Lines is a commuter bus service, charter coach service and intercity carrier based in Waukesha, Wisconsin. WCL was founded in 1941 as Waukesha Transit Lines. It has been a subsidiary of Coach USA since 1998.
Bret Arnold Bielema is an American football coach. He is the head football coach at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a position he has held since the 2021 season. Bielema served as the head football coach at of the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 2006 to 2012, achieving a 68–24 record and taking them to three straight Rose Bowl Games, although they lost each time. He was the head football coach at University of Arkansas from 2013 to 2017, tallying a mark of 29–34. Bielema was an assistant coach in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons, in 2018 and 2019 with the New England Patriots and 2020 with the New York Giants.
Metro Transit operates a bus service throughout the City of Madison, Wisconsin, United States and most of its immediate suburbs, including the City of Middleton, Fitchburg, Maple Bluff, Shorewood Hills, Sun Prairie, Verona, and a small portion of McFarland. System-wide, fixed route ridership was 13,385,628 in 2018. Metro Transit also provides supplemental transit services to some Madison middle and high schools. Several schools have switched to yellow buses in 2019. These routes are open to the general public, but have been designed to provide additional services during peak school times. Metro Transit also serves the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus, Eagle Heights University apartments, and some off-campus residential areas, via routes 80, 81, 82, and 84. The "80 routes" are free of charge.
Milwaukee Intermodal Station is an intercity bus and train station in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Amtrak service at Milwaukee includes the daily Empire Builder and the seven daily Hiawatha Service round trips. It is Amtrak's 18th-busiest station nationwide, and the second-busiest in the Midwest, behind only Chicago Union Station. The station is served by bus companies Coach USA - Wisconsin Coach Lines, Greyhound Lines, Jefferson Lines, Indian Trails, Lamers, Badger Bus, Tornado Bus Company, and Megabus. It is also the western terminus of the M-Line service of The Hop streetcar.
Portage station is an Amtrak intercity train station in Portage, Wisconsin, served by Amtrak's daily Empire Builder service. The depot is a small square brick structure constructed during the Amtrak era that is located near a Canadian Pacific Railway yard office. The office occupies what was formerly the Portage passenger depot, served by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad prior to the creation of Amtrak. There are no station staff in Portage. In October 2011, Lamers Bus Lines began offering a daily stop at the station, with service between Madison and Wausau, this service was transferred to Van Galder Coach USA in 2022. Portage along with neighboring Columbus provide Amtrak rail service to the Madison area. Portage is also slated to benefit from expanded service via the TCMC route which will service Portage station with an additional Chicago-St Paul round trip beginning in 2024 and planned additional rail service to Madison and Eau Claire by 2035.
Van Galder Bus Company, legally Sam Van Galder, Inc. is a regional bus service headquartered in Janesville, Wisconsin. A subsidiary of Coach USA, the company had been a family-owned business for over 50 years until it was sold in 1999 to the Stagecoach Group, who retained Stephen Van Galder as president under the Coach USA banner. In 2004, Van Galder acquired Rockford Coach Lines, which provided airport service from Rockford to O'Hare, from Greyhound Lines.
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin. Founded when Wisconsin achieved statehood in 1848, UW–Madison is the official state university of Wisconsin and the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It was the first public university established in Wisconsin and remains the oldest and largest public university in the state. UW–Madison became a land-grant institution in 1866. The 933-acre (378 ha) main campus, located on the shores of Lake Mendota, includes four National Historic Landmarks. The university also owns and operates the 1,200-acre (486 ha) University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum, located 4 miles (6.4 km) south of the main campus, which is also a National Historic Landmark.