MCTS Hires Outsider As New Deputy Director

Ruben Salas. Photo courtesy of MCTS.

For the first time in more than a year, the top leadership positions at the Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) are both filled.

MCTS has hired Ruben Salas Jr. to serve as deputy director. He comes to MCTS after 28 years in public transit in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area.

Most recently, Salas served as the assistant to the vice president of bus maintenance for Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART). He began his career in maintenance for Trinity Metro, then called the Fort Worth Transportation Authority (FWTA).

He joins MCTS President and CEO Steve Fuentes, a Chicago transit veteran who was hired to lead the transit system in July last year.

“I am honored to join Milwaukee County Transit System and contribute to its mission of connecting the community to jobs, education and life with essential transit services,” Salas said in a statement. “MCTS’s commitment to reliable, equitable and innovative transit service strongly aligns with my values and passion for public service. I look forward to supporting the people who make transit happen every single day.”

Beginning in 2023, a series of abrupt departures at the top of the transit system have left MCTS without steady leadership. Both Salas’ and Fuentes’ positions were most recently held by Julie Esch, who resigned as interim president and CEO in July after announcing the system faced an unexpected $10.9 million budget deficit. In 2024, the deputy director earned a salary of $155,000, according to MCTS records.

Salas is also the latest top MCTS official to be hired from outside the company, breaking with the transit system’s historic tendency to promote insiders to the highest positions. Fuentes is the first system leader hired from outside MCTS in more than two decades.

Salas brings a strong background in maintenance and management to MCTS. He started his career as a mechanic, working his way into management roles overseeing custodial staff and transit properties for Trinity Metro, according to his LinkedIn page. He spent seven years as Trinity Metro’s manager of fleet reliability. At DART, he was responsible for a multidivisional team of 400 employees.

“Ruben’s hands-on experience, collaborative leadership style and proven record of operational excellence make him a great fit for MCTS,” Fuentes said in a statement Friday. “His expertise in managing large-scale transit operations projects will be critical as MCTS works to advance public transit while maintaining financial stewardship for the people of Milwaukee County.”

Salas joins MCTS after a challenging year for transit in Milwaukee. The system, which has a longstanding structural deficit, announced an unexpected midyear budget deficit in June, followed by the resignation of the county’s top transportation officials. The announcement snowballed into a minor political scandal when MCTS failed to brief the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors beforehand. Emails obtained by Urban Milwaukee later revealed that former transit officials had intended to conceal the deficit and corresponding service cuts from the board.

To balance the budget in 2025, officials made cuts to service in the fall. Facing a $14 million transit budget deficit, county policymakers made further cuts to transit. The county board used one-time funding to prevent the elimination of entire routes, but the system is still cutting $9.3 million of service this year. MCTS officials are preparing for a larger deficit in 2027, with recent estimates ranging from $18 million to $20 million.

In the wake of the budget scandal, MCTS officials revealed system estimates for fare evasion that showed as many as one in three riders were not paying a fare. The revelation prompted demands from county supervisors for a plan to address fare evasion. The issue also drew the attention of Republican U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, who asked the U.S. Department of Transportation to get involved. In December, the Federal Transit Administration demanded a plan from MCTS for countering fare evasion.