Milwaukee County Transit System
Press Release

MOVE 2025 Enters Phase 3 with Recommended Plan to Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors

Changes to 20 Routes Reflect Rider and Operator Feedback

By - May 28th, 2025 08:29 am
Map from MCTS.

Map from MCTS.

MILWAUKEE (May 28, 2025) — After six months of extensive community engagement and rider input, the Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) is presenting its recommended plan for MOVE 2025. This final phase reflects the voices of hundreds of riders, bus operators and stakeholders, and outlines key service improvements to mirror where Milwaukee County is moving.

MCTS planners will present the MOVE 2025 Recommended Plan to the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors Transportation and Transit Committee for a vote on June 11. If approved, the changes would take place on August 24, the start of fall service.

MCTS Interim President and Managing Director Julie Esch said, “We provided the options, and the community told us what changes work best for them. This plan reflects our rider and operator priorities: more frequent service, better connections, and smarter routing.”

Starting December of last year, MCTS conducted an outreach campaign that included eight public meetings, more than 15 stakeholder sessions, and two digital surveys, gathering over 1,500 comments from passengers, drivers, community leaders, businesses, and elected officials. That feedback was instrumental in narrowing down 32 initial route concepts into the final proposal. The MOVE 2025 Recommended Plan is cost-neutral, shifting current resources to areas of greater demand.

Key Highlights of the Recommended Plan:

  • New Connections to major destinations, making it easier for people to access jobs, schools, and essential services.
  • Higher Frequency on select routes, reducing wait times and making transfers smoother.
  • Simplified Routing for clearer, more direct service that saves time and improves reliability.
  • Smarter Resource Use, reallocating service from low-ridership areas to where demand is higher.

Service Improvement Categories:

  • More Frequent Service: Routes 57, 63, and the BlueLine.
  • New Routes Created: Route 59 (Drexel Ave), Route 73 (Mill Road), Route 74 (43rd St. – Miller Park Way), Route 82 (S. 13th – Howell Avenue).
  • Extended Routes / Better Connections: Routes 14, 30, 52, 56, and 68.
  • Route Modifications: Routes 19, 20, 28, 51, 55, 58, the PurpleLine and the RedLine.

Next Steps:
The Milwaukee County Board’s Transportation and Transit Committee will hold its meeting on June 11. To participate online, visit the Milwaukee County legislative calendar.
To learn more about MOVE 2025 and view maps, please visit RideMCTS.com/MOVE.

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.

Mentioned in This Press Release

People:
Organizations:

Leave a Reply

You must be an Urban Milwaukee member to leave a comment. Membership, which includes a host of perks, including an ad-free website, tickets to marquee events like Summerfest, the Wisconsin State Fair and the Florentine Opera, a better photo browser and access to members-only, behind-the-scenes tours, starts at $9/month. Learn more.

Join now and cancel anytime.

If you are an existing member, sign-in to leave a comment.

Have questions? Need to report an error? Contact Us