MCTS bus riders skip paying fares 8 million times a year

MILWAUKEE - Editors' note: The video attached to this story includes a statement that 33% fare evasion means "for every paying rider who boards, two more board for free." That is incorrect. It means for every two paying riders who board, one gets on for free. The text version of this story has been adjusted to correct the error.

More than 8 million riders per year are boarding Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) buses without paying the required fare, according to a FOX6 Investigators analysis of MCTS data. 

Free rides and rising costs

What we know:

Leaders of the public bus system say fare evasion is a complex problem that led to a $4 million loss in revenue in 2024, just as the costs of operating the system are skyrocketing.

A new plan to trim those losses will go before a Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors committee on Wednesday, Sept. 3.

Surprise deficit

The backstory:

Concerns over fare evasion surfaced in June when MCTS stunned the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors by announcing a $10.9 million budget shortfall for 2025. The transit system's $150 million annual budget is funded through a mix of federal, state and local government funds, as well as passenger fares. 

Under the current pricing system, it costs $2 to ride the bus. It's just $1 for adults 65 and older, children 6-11 (under 6 are free), or for anyone with a qualifying disability. Those fares account for approximately 14% of the total budget. 

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Milwaukee County Board Supervisor Shawn Rolland said he and his colleagues had no idea the system was in financial trouble.

"To not hear anything about that for several months was a huge misstep," Rolland said.

Shortly after the deficit surfaced, MCTS CEO Julie Esch resigned. Her successor, Sandra Kellner, apologized to the board in July, then laid out a series of unexpected cost increases that have plagued the system in 2025. Kellner cited the rising cost of vehicle parts due to federal tariffs, inefficient delivery of paratransit services by a contracted vendor, and bus operators racking up overtime.

‘Suspicious’ timing

The other side:

Officers of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 998 questioned the timing of MCTS' budget concerns.

"Right in the middle of contract negotiations," said ATU Vice President Michael Brown. 

ATU represents bus drivers and is currently at odds with management over a new contract.

"I feel that was extremely coincidental," said Bruce Freeman, ATU 998 President.

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Still, Rolland said the deficit appears to be real.

"Millions of dollars are being lost, and it's putting stress on the bus system," Rolland said.

A July 2 press release issued by the Milwaukee County Board sids MCTS estimated a fare evasion rate in 2024 of 25% – meaning one out of every four riders did not pay to ride – with a loss of revenue estimated at $4 million.

"I think it could be much more than that," Rolland said.

FOX6 Investigators take the bus

By the numbers:

Over three days in August, FOX6 Investigators boarded MCTS buses and watched to see who paid a fare and who did not.

On a weekday afternoon, we rode a Route 12 bus from Brown Deer to Marquette University and back. We counted 54 riders who boarded, but only 31 who paid – a 43% evasion rate.

On Route 33 from Wauwatosa to Fiserv Forum in downtown Milwaukee, we saw 16 passengers board, but only eight paid – a 50% evasion rate.

Finally, we took the Connect1 Bus Rapid Transit route from the Watertown Plank Park and Ride to the Couture high rise. Of the 45 riders who got on, 19 paid – a 64% evasion rate.

In fact, when a FOX6 News producer tried to scan a mobile phone code to pay for her Connect1 bus ride, an impatient bus driver told her "just sit down" instead of completing her fare payment.

MCTS internal data is worse

Dig deeper:

Of course, our spot checks are just that – a snapshot of fare evasion on three specific routes at particular times of day.

To get the full picture, FOX6 Investigators requested MCTS' own comprehensive data tracking ridership and fare payments. In the first five months of 2025, it shows fare evasion reached 33%, a sharp increase over the 25% from a January survey with a smaller sample size. 

MCTS estimates 3.4 million non-paying riders took the bus from January to May 2025. That equates to 8.2 million free riders per year. 

At an average fare of $1.25 per rider, fare dodgers will get more than $10 million worth of free rides this year.

'Not unique’ to Milwaukee

Big picture view:

"Are you surprised by the scale of this?" asked FOX6 Investigator Bryan Polcyn.

"I think we're all surprised by the scale of this," said Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. 

Crowley said fare evasion is a concern for transit systems across the country.

"This isn't something that's unique to our Milwaukee County Transit System," Crowley said.

A new report by MCTS shows Milwaukee's 33% evasion rate is similar to transit systems in Seattle and Washington, D.C., and less than those in New York and Los Angeles, where fares are enforced by transit police, dedicated fare checkers or non-police ambassadors.

Safety vs Enforcement

Striking a Balance:

In 2024, MCTS established the first in-house public safety office in its 50-year history. Two years earlier, it stopped allowing bus drivers to ask passengers if they paid a fare.

In a statement to FOX6 News, MCTS said it was following guidance from the Federal Transit Administration in changing its policy for bus drivers from "ask for a fare once" to "no longer ask for fare." After the policy change in 2022, a spokesman said they saw a 42% decrease in assaults on drivers, which are often started because of a fare dispute.

Rolland believes fares should be enforced by security officers, not drivers. MCTS currently has 19 Public Safety Officers employed in house, as well as a contract with Allied Universal to provide third party security. However, FOX6 Investigators did not encounter a single security worker on the bus routes we rode. 

Rolland wants to see more, but acknowledges the math has to work for it to make fiscal sense.

"You don’t want to, I don’t know, spend $5 million dollars on something that only gets you $1 million in revenue back," Rolland said.

Fare compliance plan unveiled

What's next:

In July, Rolland and his fellow board members voted unanimously to ask MCTS to come up with a plan to reduce fare evasion to 15%.

On Aug. t 14, MCTS submitted an eight-page informational report on its proposed fare compliance strategy.

The plan lays out six specific strategies, including:

1. Public education campaign - "Every Fare Counts" signage, social media posts and audio messages
2. Open Loop Payment - allowing credit cards as well as Apple Pay and Google Pay to be used for fare payments
3. Targeted Fare Enforcement - $.1 Million for 26,000 annual hours of private security devoted to fare enforcement
4. Fare Ambassadors - Non-police staff to educate riders on how to pay the fare
5. New collection equipment - Add fare collection equipment to certain buses
6. Equity-Focused Fares - Create an income-based fare reduction program

The MCTS plan sets a goal of reducing fare evasion from 33% to 30% t by September 2026. It will be the focus of a public hearing at the next meeting of the Milwaukee County Committee on Transportation and Transit on Wednesday, Sept. 3 at 9:30 a.m. The meeting will be held in Room 203-R of the Milwaukee County Courthouse. It will also be available via livestream on the county's legislative information calendar.

MCTS Statement to FOX6, Aug. 19, 2025

"The Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) extends its appreciation to the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors for its support addressing fare evasion. We are working with the resolution sponsor while collaborating within multiple divisions within MCTS – including security, marketing/communications, and transportation – for a strategy that prioritizes equitable access, rider and operator safety, and long-term sustainability. We look forward to presenting our data-informed, safety-conscious fare compliance strategy at the Transportation and Transit Committee Meeting on September 3.

"Fare evasion is a complex challenge faced by transit systems across the country. MCTS takes this issue very seriously and follows national best practices to promote the safety of our bus operators and riders while operating a sustainable system. To make security a top priority, and, as recommended by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), MCTS updated its fare enforcement policies in December of 2022. At that time, MCTS removed the bus operator out of the fare enforcement process, changing the fare request policy from "ask for fare once" to no longer ask for fare. As a result of this new policy and other safety changes, in 2023, MCTS experienced a 42 percent decrease in physical assaults on bus operators compared to 2022. Any resumption of an ask-for-fare policy will be done in collaboration with operators and their labor representation.

"Regarding your recent experience on two MCTS buses, it is important to understand that the fare evasion rate is calculated by reviewing hundreds or thousands of trips over a period of time. That rate will fluctuate based on the time period and routes evaluated. The news release cited in your email refers to a January 2025 survey conducted by MCTS that found an estimated 24.6 percent overall fare evasion rate across 249 trips on multiple routes, with fare evasion on CONNECT 1 higher at 33 percent, indicating disproportionately lower fare compliance on this route. The data shared with you via your open records request references a more complete data set, which shows the fare evasion rate for all routes January through May 2025.

"In response to concerns related to this complex issue, our immediate action has been a public awareness campaign to encourage fare compliance as part of our comprehensive strategy. We look forward to a continued partnership with the County Board in addressing this issue of fare evasion. Thank you for your request for an interview. At this time, we are reserving public comments for the September 3 Transportation and Transit Committee Meeting."

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