Bus Fares Go Up Thursday

MCTS Bus. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Fare increases will take effect Thursday across the Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS).

Regular adult cash fares, as well as reduced fares, will go up in 2026 as the system aims to close a $9.3 million budget gap.

MCTS has not increased base fares since 2007. In 2025, MCTS increased the rates for fare capping. For example, the daily rate went from $4 to $5. Along with base fares, the fare caps will once again go up in 2026, increasing how much riders pay for service per day, week or month.

Adult fares, whether they are paid in cash or through the mobile app WisGo, will go from $2 to $2.75 on Jan. 1. Reduced fares will rise from $1 to $1.25. The new adult daily fare cap will increase to $8.25, the weekly cap to $33 and the monthly cap to $99. Reduced rates will increase to $4 for the daily cap, $16.50 for the weekly and $49.50 for the monthly cap.

Along with fare increases, riders will also see the first significant service cuts since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Stimulus funding from the pandemic has run out and MCTS is facing major budget deficits in 2026 and beyond. The 2026 budget gap was originally projected at $14 million, but the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors provided the system with an additional $4.7 million during the budget process. The funds, however, were scraped together in part by adjusting upward currently unrealized sales tax revenue. In 2027, the system may see the budget gap double in size, to $18 million or $20 million, MCTS CEO Steve Fuentes said in December.

The problem for MCTS is the same one it faced nearly two decades ago when it raised fares the last time: the system costs more to operate than MCTS collects in revenue. The state, which provides the largest single source of funding for MCTS, has not increased mass transit aid to keep up with rising operating costs.

Fare revenue is unlikely to fill the growing gap in the coming years. MCTS has struggled to even collect all the fares it is due. In 2025, the system estimated as many as one-in-three riders does not pay a fare when they board a bus. The system is putting additional resources into uniformed transit security officers in 2026, placing them along routes with high rates of fare evasion for deterrence.

In order to balance its budget in the coming years, MCTS will likely need a significant increase in funding from the state or county policymakers will need to hike the vehicle registration fee, often called the wheel tax, in order to fund transit without drastic reductions in service.

MCTS has created a webpage with a breakdown of fare increases taking effect Jan. 1.