New Coalition Seeks to Boost Milwaukee Transit Funding

MCTS Bus. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

A coalition of local community organizations is launching a campaign for more funding for the Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS).

The “Transit is Milwaukee” coalition was organized by the transit advocacy nonprofit MobiliSE, which is the organization responsible for FlexRide, along with UW-Milwaukee and the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (SEWRPC). FlexRide provides an on-demand taxi service that operates between specific pickup zones in the city of Milwaukee and drop-off zones near large suburban employers and business parks.

The new coalition is made up of a number of local nonprofits and advocacy organizations that do not traditionally work on transit issues but serve local residents who rely on public transit. The group plans to advocate for greater transit funding and expanded transit options in the Milwaukee metro area.

The coalition was formally announced during MobiliSE’s spring summit, attended by transit advocates, officials and politicians from the region, including MCTS President and CEO Steve Fuentes, Milwaukee County Department of Transportation Director Joe Lamers, Racine Transit and Mobility Director Trevor Jung, Wauwatosa Mayor Dennis McBride and state Sen. LaTonya Johnson.

The group’s primary focus is advocating for more state funding for MCTS, which implemented significant service cuts in 2026 to close a budget gap. The system has a structural deficit that could reach as high as $20 million in 2027. The system’s primary source of revenue, state mass transit aid, has not kept pace with the annually growing cost to operate MCTS, even as officials have pared back the system over the past two decades.

Milwaukee isn’t the only area struggling with transit funding, and that’s part of the message the group plans to bring to Madison, Dave Steele, MobiliSE’s executive director, told Urban Milwaukee.

“We’re seeing challenges in rural areas, where folks that rely on rural transit to get to jobs and healthcare appointments are being affected by service reductions,” Steele said. “Many communities across our state, urban and rural, have fixed route systems, or they have dial a ride taxis, or shuttles that help folks who can’t drive get to various places, and these services are essential for their communities.”

In May, the coalition is launching a social media campaign to promote the importance of transit. Long term, the group plans to push for an expansion of transit service running from Milwaukee County to nearby communities.

“I think it has the potential of really helping us build out a more robust mobility ecosystem in Milwaukee County, and not just there, but you can include Racine, Ozaukee, Waukesha,” Fuentes said. “If we could all come together and make life a little bit easier for the residents, that’s what it’s all about.”

The coalition is being led by the co-chairs of the MobiliSE Transit Advocacy Committee: Cinthia Téllez Silva of Michael Baker International and Claire Enders of Milwaukee County Aging and Disabilities Services. It includes organizations such as Employ Milwaukee, 1000 Friends of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Council for the Blind, Safe and Sound Inc., and Muskego Way.

“We want to send the message loud and clear that ‘Transit is Milwaukee,’” Cinthia Téllez Silva said in a statement. “Transit is freedom. Transit is independence. Transit is access to a job, to a health care appointment, to child care. It’s essential.”