MILWAUKEE, Wis. – New grant money is heading to the Milwaukee County Transit System intended to continue upgrades to the current bus fleet, quickening route times through downtown Milwaukee, and increase system ridership.
This as MCTS continues grappling with budget concerns, route cuts, and fare evasion.
The roughly $8 million coming to MCTS is part of $22 million in federal funding from the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Improvement Program administered to various traffic and transit projects across the Wisconsin. It includes the following allocations for MCTS:
- $5,800,000 in funding for the replacement of 20 older diesel buses with 20 newer, clean diesel buses, 10 per year in 2027 and 2028.
- $1,102,400 for transponder equipment on 85 buses operating daily on six routes along 6th Street and Water Street as part of an effort to optimize traffic signals at 24 intersections along these streets.
- $1,000,000 for a public relations outreach campaign that will “educate about public transit to decrease dependence on Single Occupancy Vehicles”.
The clean diesel buses in question are from the Gillig 6400 series; they first hit the roads in Milwaukee County in March as part of MCTS’s 50th anniversary celebration at a cost of over $650,000.
Regarding the traffic signal optimalization plans, a spokesperson for MCTS says the project will require collaboration with the City of Milwaukee Department of Public Works. The signals in question run along Sixth Street between West Kilbourn Avenue and West Clybourn Street, and along Water Street from North Milwaukee Street to East Chicago Street.
“Investments in public transportation are needed now more than ever in Milwaukee County. I want to thank the Wisconsin Department of Transportation for delivering this funding that will support Wisconsin’s largest transit system,” said Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley in a statement Tuesday.
The grants come as MCTS continues navigating ongoing budget issues following news of a $10.9 million deficit first reported in June. In August, MCTS reduced service hours on 17 of its route as part of the largest service update since its system redesign in 2021.
READ MORE: MCTS announces several route service reductions, new route additions amid budget deficit
Additionally, fare evasion remains an issue MCTS. According to a report filed August 14 by interim MCTS President and CEO Sandra Kellner and interim Milwaukee County Department of Transportation director John Rodgers, around one third of riders across the system are currently not paying fares to ride the bus. That figure jumps to around 43 percent of rides on the CONNECT1 Bus Rapid Transit line as of last May, according to the report. In response, MCTS has rolled out a new plan to curb fare evasion that officials estimate will cost nearly $3 million to implement.
READ MORE: MCTS rolls out fare evasion plan as 33% of rides go unpaid for
The handling of the budget deficit reporting has drawn the ire of Milwaukee County leaders; it was the first topic addressed during Kellner’s first appearance before the County Committee on Transportation and Transit in July, one day before MCTS’s budget issues were to be discussed with the committee.
“In this instance, we did not meet our own standards,” said Kellner July 9.
The committee will meet again September 3 to hear an update from MCTS on the financial shortfall and fare evasion. Also during the meeting, the committee will confirm the appointment of Isaac Rowlett to the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission replacing Donna Brown-Martin, who resigned from the Milwaukee County Department of Transportation just days after the County Comptroller Liz Sumner requested an audit of MCTS in the wake of the budget news.
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