MCTS Holding Public Information Meetings on New BRT

MCTS Battery Electric Bus. Photo Courtesy of MCTS.

The Milwaukee County Transit System is planning to hold three informational meetings for its new East-West Bus Rapid Transit line, which is less than three months away from launch.

The new BRT is a nine-mile bus line running between downtown Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center in Wauwatosa. It will employ new transit technology, dedicated bus lanes, traffic signal priority and off-bus fare collection to provide a quicker, more efficient bus service. It’s scheduled to begin service on June 4.

Riders and community members will have a chance to learn about the new service and how to use it during these meetings. MCTS officials will also explain how the new service will affect existing bus routes. Some features, like off-board fare validators, will be used for the first time by the transit system along the BRT.

The first meeting will be held virtually on Thursday, March 9 from noon to 1 p.m. Anyone interested in attending can sign-up here.

One in-person meeting will be held in the evening on Tuesday, March 14 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Mitchell Street Library, 906 W. Historic Mitchell St. And a final meeting will be held during the day on Saturday, March 18 from noon to 1 p.m. at the MCTS Administration Building, 1942 N. 17th St.

MCTS is calling the new BRT service “CONNECT 1” and buses will be wrapped with new CONNECT1 branding. It will be operated — eventually — with 11 Battery Electric Buses (BEBs). Nova Bus, the BEB manufacturer MCTS contracted with, has run into a snag with their battery supplier, according to MCTS officials, and the final four buses for the BRT will arrive after the June 4 launch. In the meantime, the route will be operated with a mix of BEB’s and clean-diesel buses.

According to MCTS, the launch of the BRT will coincide with the following changes to other bus routes:

• GoldLine – “The CONNECT 1 BRT will replace GoldLine (Wisconsin Avenue) service along Wisconsin Avenue and Bluemound Road between downtown and the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center (MRMC). In addition, Route 30 (Sherman – Wisconsin) will replace GoldLine service from downtown to UWM. Finally, GoldLine service from the MRMC to Brookfield Square will be replaced with an extension of Waukesha Metro Route 1 (Brookfield – Waukesha). The GoldLine name itself will be retired.”
• Route 14  – “Route 14 will be modified into two separate routes to improve reliability and on time performance. New Route 14 (Humboldt Blvd) will primarily serve Humboldt Boulevard between Bayshore and downtown. New Route 24 (Forest Home Avenue) will primarily serve Forest Home Avenue between Southridge and the MCTS Administration Building on 17th & Fond du Lac. Both routes will serve stations on the CONNECT 1 BRT line.”
• BlueLine – “The BlueLine will be shortened to end at Marquette University (16th Street & Wisconsin Avenue) instead of the downtown Intermodal Station. Riders will continue to enjoy high-frequency service.”
• Route 21 – “Route 21 service will be expanded so buses run year-round on Downer Avenue between North Avenue and UWM. Route 21 will continue to provide riders with high-frequency service.”