MCTS bus service reduction planned due to budget deficit
Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS)
MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee County Transit System plans to reduce service to address a budget deficit.
What we know:
The MCTS announced on Tuesday, June 17, that it will exceed the adopted 2025 budget if it does not make changes to operations. The deficit currently stands at an estimated $10.9 million due to unexpected expenses and lower passenger revenue.
Starting on Aug. 24, MCTS will reduce fall service. An approximately 20,000-hour reduction in service levels will be in effect through the end of the year.
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The adjustments will affect non-peak weekday high-frequency routes with the lowest ridership at midday, and frequency levels on Saturdays.
MCTS noted that no routes will be cut.
MOVE 2025, a MCTS plan to improve key transit services across the county, will go forward in the fall.
"Reducing the frequency of buses is the last thing we want to do but it will have the least impact on our riders," MCTS Interim President and CEO Julie Esch said. "We provide 80,000 rides a day — that’s tens of thousands of Milwaukee County residents who depend on us to get to work, school, and medical care."
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MCTS said it plans to give riders as much advance notice as possible.
Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS)
The specific route frequency changes for fall service will be announced soon.
As soon as MCTS identifies the schedule changes, riders can check for updates at RideMCTS.com/ServiceChanges.
The Source: The Milwaukee County Transit System provided information for this report.