Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Transit Management topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Madison Transportation Commission honors Metro Transit general manager Justin Steubenberg
Summary
The Transportation Commission adopted a resolution thanking Justin Steubenberg for five years of leadership at Madison Metro Transit, citing service redesigns, bus rapid transit development, electrification and increased regional revenues.
The Transportation Commission on May 14 adopted a resolution honoring Justin Steubenberg, City of Madison Metro Transit general manager, and thanked him for what commissioners described as transformative leadership over the last five years.
Commissioners said Steubenberg led a major network redesign, helped stand up the city’s east–west bus rapid transit (BRT) line and advanced electric-bus operations, and they credited him with securing large federal grants and growing regional partnership revenues. "Whereas Justin Steubenberg led Metro Transit through a period of historic change, positioning it as a national leader in transit innovation and navigating the agency through a global pandemic," the resolution reads in part.
Commissioners and alders who spoke praised the network redesign and BRT for extending service and improving access. Denise Jess, a Transportation Commission member and a representative of the disability community, said, "The bus rapid transit system and also the improvements to, metro in general make it a much easier system to use." Jess added that the changes made transit more usable for people who do not drive and commended Steubenberg for staff development and partnerships.
Commission member Yang, speaking from a professional exchange event, thanked Steubenberg "for the partnership and the collaboration" between Metro Transit and traffic engineering. Several commissioners noted that Metro’s revenue from regional partnerships grew from $4,000,000 in 2019 to $14,000,000 in 2025, language set out in the resolution.
The resolution text also lists accomplishments included in staff presentations to the commission: a network redesign described as updating a 25‑year‑old system to improve frequency and expand service hours, the launch of an east–west BRT using larger electric articulated buses with dedicated lanes and transit signal priority, renovation of the main facility and a renovated satellite facility on Hanson Road to charge electric buses, and a North–South BRT project in development that the resolution says the Federal Transit Administration recommended for funding.
Steubenberg spoke briefly after commissioners’ remarks and thanked staff and commission members for their partnership. He said he plans to remain in Madison and invited commissioners to a planned farewell happy hour on June 4 at 4 p.m. at the Great Dane.
The commission approved the resolution by unanimous consent. Chair Anne Kovich said she would sign two originals and deliver copies to Metro Transit and the Transportation Commission records.
The resolution notes Steubenberg’s planned departure date as May 30, 2025, and thanks him for leadership that, the resolution says, "has been transformative, consequential, and will last for decades."
