Evers Budget Good For Transit

MCTS bus. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Gov. Tony Evers wants to boost state funding for mass transit and create a fund to help local agencies purchase new buses.

The governor unveiled his proposed 2025-2027 biennial budget Tuesday, which included a proposed 4% increase in mass transit aids, as well as the creation of a new fund to support transit vehicle replacements.

Both items, if ultimately approved, would help the Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) as it enters a difficult period. MCTS has a longstanding structural budget deficit: it costs more to operate the system each year than MCTS has revenue.

The transit system has used federal stimulus funding to plug budget holes for the past five years. Once the federal funds run out, though, the system is facing a budget gap between approximately $12 and $18 million, according to a 2024 report by the Office of the Comptroller. MCTS recently cancelled the a second bus rapid transit project to save long-term operating expenses associated with the route, and to move finds dedicated to planning it back into the general operating budget, staving off service cuts until at least 2028, the last year the system will have federal funding.

In the previous biennial state budget, MCTS received approximately $66.8 million annually through the Urban Mass Transit Operating Aid program. A 4% increase in funding for MCTS under this program would mean an additional $2.7 million annually. The additional funding will not close the structural gap, but it will help.

“I’m especially encouraged by the budget increases in mass transit aid and transportation funding so we can keep investing in our infrastructure, supporting job creation efforts, and maintaining public transit services for people in Milwaukee County,” County Executive David Crowley said in a statement on the governor’s proposed budget.

Urban Mass Transit Operating Aid is the single largest source of operational funding for MCTS each year. MCTS is also the greatest beneficiary of this state program. The combined program funding for other transit systems under this program is still less than what MCTS receives.

In 2023, Republican state legislators potentially weakened the position of this program, moving it out of the segregated Transportation Fund and into the General Purpose Revenue Fund, pitting it against other state funding priorities like K-12 education and healthcare.

Evers’ budget could do more for MCTS than increase operating assistance, though. The governor is also proposing to create a new $20 million grant program to assist transit agencies with vehicle replacements.

MCTS has been struggling in recent years to keep up with its bus replacement schedule for lack of funding. The system needs approximately 150 buses over the next five years to replace all of the buses that will reach the end of the useful life. The industry standard for the life of a bus is 12-years or 500,000 miles.

“We thank Governor Evers for both proposing an increase in mass transit aids for public transportation and creating a new Transit Capital Assistance Fund to modernize aging facilities and purchase additional buses to improve transportation safety and address inflationary costs on purchasing new equipment,” MCTS said in a statement to Urban Milwaukee. “With a ridership increase of 11.5 percent in 2024, we will need more funding to go along with this growth to deliver patrons to businesses and employees to jobs.”

Road Safety Funding

The governor’s proposed budget also includes provisions that would lend support to the Milwaukee County’s road safety projects. A new $60 million fund would be created to provide grants for traffic calming and reckless driving projects over the biennium. Additionally, the budget would codify “complete streets” pedestrian considerations for transportation infrastructure projects.

“If passed, Governor Evers’ budget proposal will allow the Milwaukee County Department of Transportation to sustain important transportation initiatives that contribute to the economic vitality of the entire state of Wisconsin,” MCDOT Director Donna Brown-Martin said in a statement to Urban Milwaukee. The department “applauds projects that could help us achieve our Vision Zero goal of eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries in Milwaukee County by 2037,” she added. 

MCDOT has spent the past three years creating a comprehensive, countywide plan for road safety, identifying hundreds of areas for traffic safety interventions.

“Proposed traffic calming grants, driver education grants, and complete streets directives support the initiatives we are working towards, in collaboration with our municipalities and state, local, and community partners,” Brown-Martin said. 

Safer transportation infrastructure will have ripple effects, improving local quality of life and supporting economic growth, the director said.

“Enhancing the safety of our roads is one of the most important issues facing the health, well-being, and economic vitality of our community,” Crowley said. “Collaboration and partnership will be key to increasing multimodal safety and reducing reckless driving. Milwaukee County supports any efforts, including support from the State of Wisconsin, that help eliminate traffic fatalities and severe injuries, while improving overall health outcomes for our residents.”