Milwaukee County Transit System to Address Budget Deficit Through Service Reduction

MILWAUKEE (June 17, 2025) – Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) announced today it will exceed the adopted 2025 budget if it does not make changes to operations. Currently the deficit stands at an estimated $10.9 million due to unexpected expenses and lower passenger revenue.

MCTS will reduce fall service starting August 24, 2025. An approximately 20,000-hour reduction in service levels will be in effect through the end of the year. These adjustments will affect non-peak weekday high-frequency routes with the lowest ridership mid-day, and frequency levels on Saturdays. No routes will be cut. The specific route frequency changes for fall service will be announced soon.

MOVE 2025 improvements–including four new routes–will go forward this fall. Riders will still benefit from their collective input on how to improve the system and provide Milwaukee County as much quality public transit as it can afford.

MCTS Interim President and CEO Julie Esch said, “Reducing the frequency of buses is the last thing we want to do but it will have the least impact on our riders. We provide 80,000 rides a day—that’s tens of thousands of Milwaukee County residents who depend on us to get to work, school, and medical care.”

In the face of mounting fiscal challenges over the past several years, MCTS has eliminated Freeway Flyers, school routes, and special event shuttles. Yet ridership has continued to grow. In 2024, ridership increased by 13 percent to over 25 million rides.

“MCTS is a lifeline for the regional economy. MCTS is vital in connecting tens of thousands of individuals to work, school and medical care. Our goal is to ensure that service cuts have minimal impacts on the businesses, organizations, and people who rely on this important service.”

MCTS plans to give riders as much advance notice as possible. As soon as MCTS identifies the schedule changes, riders can check for updates at RideMCTS.com/ServiceChanges.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.