MCTS Announces Spring Service Cuts

MCTS Gillig bus. Photo taken March 19, 2025, by Graham Kilmer.

The Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) will begin implementing the second phase of service reductions this year on March 8.

MCTS managed to avoid eliminating any entire routes in 2026, despite a $9.3 million budget cut. Instead, the system is reducing service hours and bus frequency along 20 routes and cutting segments off of bus routes, shortening them. The service reductions were implemented at the start of the year. Now the system is preparing to roll out the second phase, shortening a handful of routes.

The staggered rollout was developed in response to concerns that riders would be unprepared for the full brunt of the cuts on Jan. 1.

“As we evaluated the routes to ensure we’re living within our means in 2026, we looked at segments that historically have seen lower ridership,” said Jesus Ochoa, MCTS director of Service Development. “In addition, the data that we looked at closely included factors such as population density, job density, the needs of persons with disabilities, and proximity to local schools, to name a few.”

Beginning March 8, routes 11, 22, 24, 80 and 88 will be shortened. Bus service along these routes will also be less frequent, according to MCTS.

• Route 11 will no longer run all the way to N. 124th Street. Buses traveling west will turn back at N. 92nd Street.
• Route 22 will no longer provide service to UW-Milwaukee and will instead turn back at N. Humboldt Boulevard.
• Route 24 will stop running through Historic Downtown Greendale and will instead turn around further north at the intersection of S. 74th Street and W. Edgerton Avenue.
• Route 80 will stop running to the intersection of Good Hope Road and N. Teutonia Ave. Buses heading north will turn around near the Glendale Industrial Park.
• Route 88 will stop traveling west all the way to N. 124th Street. Buses will turn back east at N. 107th Street instead.

Route 33

Route 33 was one of the bus lines that had service significantly reduced at the start of the year. MCTS plans to add an additional trip between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. to make it easier for riders using the bus to get to work.

Detours

Seven routes will be detoured through the spring for construction, a number of them related to the Interstate 94 expansion project. Detoured routes include 18, 24, 44U, 60, 80, GreenLine and PurpleLine. MCTS maintains a webpage with detailed descriptions of route detours.

To handle the impact of the interstate project, MCTS has added service to the Connect 1 bus rapid transit line and Route 30.

Same-Day Paratransit

MCTS is shortening the daily operating window for a service providing on-demand transportation for persons with disabilities to ensure solvency through 2026. The program will still run seven days a week.

The Transit Plus Same Day Pilot will start running at 8 a.m. daily, instead of 7 a.m., but it will continue accepting ride requests until 5:59 p.m.

More Cuts Likely in 2027

The 2026 transit budget cuts, which will be fully implemented by March 8, are likely just the beginning of a multi-year reduction in transit service.

MCTS was preparing to eliminate six routes this year to close a projected $14 million budget deficit in 2026. The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors approved a budget amendment sponsored by Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson Bovell that added funding back into the transit system budget, allowing officials to preserve the existing route map, albeit with significantly less bus service.

The additional funding was not pulled from a sustainable, long-term source. MCTS President and CEO Steve Fuentes said in December last year the system was already projecting an $18 million to $20 million budget gap by 2027.

MCTS raised fare prices this year but that won’t be enough. The system relies heavily on state transit funding that has not kept pace with the rising cost to provide service for the past two decades. The system costs more to operate than MCTS has to spend.