Bus Riders Can Finally Pay With Credit Card
MCTS adds contactless payment system riders can use after boarding.
MCTS bus. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
The Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) announced the long-awaited arrival of contactless payment for bus riders Monday.
The new system allows riders to pay bus fares by tapping a credit card, debit card, their phone or smartwatch on the fare validator when they board.
The option was first announced in 2022, when MCTS revealed plans to roll out a new fare collection system called Umo Mobility Platforms by Cubic Transportation Systems, a multinational transportation and defense company.
MCTS began looking for a new fare system while developing Connect 1, the county’s first bus rapid transit line. A federal grant for the new route supplied MCTS with $1.5 million for the new Umo platform. MCTS rolled out the new payment system in 2023.
At the time, transit officials believed routes like the Connect 1 represented the future of MCTS. But financial shortfalls scuppered plans for a second route — the Connect 2 — and now MCTS is planning a major redesign of the system for financial sustainability. The Connect 1 was an expensive route to develop, with enhanced bus platforms and additional infrastructure designed to keep the buses rolling quickly and efficiently.
“Adding more payment options to MCTS’ WisGo system represents a significant step forward in modernizing Milwaukee County’s transit system and enhancing the overall rider experience,” Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said in a statement Monday. “By offering contactless payment for riders, we are creating a more accessible, efficient and dynamic transportation network not only for Milwaukee County but also for our WisGo public transit agency partners in Appleton, Beloit, Oshkosh, Racine and Waukesha, who will have the opportunity to enhance their systems by introducing this modern payment option. Efforts like this will allow MCTS to meet the needs of our community today and into the future.”
MCTS President and CEO Steve Fuentes said the new contactless payment system will offer a “smoother, more flexible” payment option for riders.
“Our goal is to make MCTS the best it can be while remaining fiscally sustainable, and contactless payment reflects that commitment,” Fuentes said. “We look forward to continuing to explore and invest in new technologies as they become available for our riders.”
The payment option also arrives as MCTS leaders, facing budget gaps and under pressure from elected officials, have begun addressing fare evasion. In 2025, the transit system revealed to Milwaukee County supervisors that its data showed an estimated one in three bus riders were not paying a fare. A handful of strategies were implemented, and MCTS recently reported that fare evasion was declining.
Evasion cost MCTS an estimated $9 million in 2024, the agency reported last year. But even if all riders pay their fares, it won’t be enough to solve the system’s financial problems. The transit system was forced to cut its budget by $9.6 million in 2026 to close a budget gap. Early projections suggest the budget gap could be as large as $20 million in 2027.
If you think stories like this are important, become a member of Urban Milwaukee and help support real, independent journalism. Plus you get some cool added benefits.
Political Contributions Tracker
Displaying political contributions between people mentioned in this story. Learn more.
Transportation
-
Milwaukee Plans 60 Traffic Safety Projects for 2026
Apr 8th, 2026 by Jeramey Jannene
-
State To Reveal New I-794 Cost Estimates
Apr 7th, 2026 by Jeramey Jannene
-
County Preparing Final Phase of Costly Lakefront Parking Lot
Apr 2nd, 2026 by Graham Kilmer
With diesel prices approaching all time highs and Presidential sanity approaching all time lows, thoughts of fiscal stability are being scuppered. (OMG think I used “scuppered” correctly in a sentence too. So cool. I don’t think I have done that in my lifetime! I feel so British right now).
Great, just like NYC, San Fran and L.A., but way late. Question, can I train the system to recognize my credit card and extend my senior (reduced) fare? Somehow, I doubt it, but I’ll check.
Assuming fare capping works when using credit/debit cards (this is unclear to me), I imagine one would need to use the same card for all rides to benefit from capping.
I’ve paid for rides in other cities using my credit card. In those cases, I was charged for the standard fare with no discounts. As a short term visitor, I did not care – the convenience was more important than trying to get a concessionary fare.
Well, “All Aboard!” This is great news. I’ll be a happy bus rider once again. I never had the right change, metro card, nor a clear idea of the cost. Pleased not to have to drive and park along Wisconsin Ave. and points East or West. UWM, Milwaukee Public libraries, Bay View, Bayshore, Downer Avenue and Mayfair — here I come. I’ll see you on the bus.
The convenience for infrequent users is definitely the appeal here. I’m not sure how or if they would (or could) implement fare capping on credit cards. I’m confident they will continue to encourage frequent riders to use the app in order to get applicable discounts or fare caps.
Fare capping works for credit card users – as long as you use the same card for every trip – but I don’t think they have any way to register a credit card for reduced fare discounts.
Paying cash or using a credit card shouldn’t be the question here……the question should be, will all riders pay a fare? The fare evasion question still remains a major obstacle to an efficient county transportation system. To date, county supervisors and MCTS officials have proven incapable of doing so. They have abused taxpayers and did not perform their fiduciary duties as duly elected officials.
I am in NYC several times a year. I had to talk to a live human once who linked my credit card to Senior status. Give Milwaukee County another five years to figure it out. I can use the same card with GooglePay, Apple Pay, too.
Novak, what is your solution? I don’t really see one. If you make the drivers play cop, they get beat up. You wouldn’t want to pay for a security officer on every bus. What would you do?
In this modern society, almost everyone has a credit and/or debit card. That should cut down on fare evasion but I doubt it will. After all, the entitled class is entitled to whatever it wants. So disgusting.
Entitled class? Billionaires don’t ride buses.
Mr. Prochnow, I am talking about the entitled class who don’t have a conscious. They don’t care about paying their way. They know MCTS has a lax policy involving fare evasion and they take advantage of it–sometimes several times a day. The old white guy who jumps on the 51 a few times a day to grab junk food at the Speedway on 92 St and OK Ave. Tell me he’s going to beat up an operator. The young folks with designer shoes who don’t pay because they know they can get away with it. IMO MCTS has been run by the entitled culture who penalize operators who have the guts to refuse to let those ride who don’t pay. The inept, entitled culture running MCTS imposes policies that encourage fare evasion. The inept County Board does nothing to curb the abuse. Folks like me, who are dependent on MCTS for health reasons and have never evaded a fare, even during extremely lean times, end up paying the price with increased fares and decreased service.
Now that the 20 years-behind-the-times MCTS is finally accepting credit/debit cards, there should be no need for fare evasion. Pay with a card or find a different mode of transportation. There are very few folks who are unable to afford fare from my observation, but there are many of the entitled class who think they can get whatever they want without paying. Milwaukee County is in a sad state, IMO.. Elected officials afraid to do their jobs.
I’m back to the question I asked James Novak: What would you have the “elected officials afraid to do their jobs” do? I ride the Green Line and the 30 almost daily and rarely observe fare evasion, though I’m sure it occurs. What I don’t know is what can be done about it and you don’t have an answer, either.
Back in the day when I took the Route 18 to and from work, whenever there was an issue the driver would call transit security and they would show up and escort the offender(s) off the bus. IMO it is truly a sad day when the transit company is unable to provide a security system. They probably had more important things on their mind—like hiding a growing deficit from the County Board.
I remember that, too. I think it cost too much and they quit it.