Steve F. Taylor
Press Release

Supervisor Taylor Asks for Delay on Milwaukee Streetcar Vote

Says More Time Needed for Analysis of Effects on MCTS

By - Jan 20th, 2015 09:43 am

Earlier today Supervisor Steve F. Taylor sent a letter to Milwaukee Common Council President Murphy asking for a delay on the streetcar vote.

“I am respectfully asking members of the Milwaukee Common Council to delay their vote on the streetcar in order for Milwaukee County Transit Services (MCTS) to have time to do an analysis on the negative affects the streetcar will have on our transit services,” the letter said.

“The City of Milwaukee is projecting 1,840 daily riders (670,000 annually) and those riders must be coming from somewhere, which likely means a loss in ridership to MCTS.  Milwaukee County needs to determine how we are going deal with this loss in ridership.  Are we going to raise fares or cut routes in order to make up for the loss in revenue?

“Some Milwaukee Aldermen should be concerned because their district does not benefit, yet many of their constituents may suffer the consequences of their vote.  Many in the minority community rely on MCTS as their mode of transportation and some may not be able to afford an increase in fares.  On the other hand it would be totally inappropriate for the taxpayers of Milwaukee County outside of the City of Milwaukee to have to pay for any losses MCTS has due to the streetcar.”

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

Recent Press Releases by Steve F. Taylor

Supervisor Taylor Congratulates Speaker Ryan for his Leadership

Shares Ryan's Concerns about Divisions Wrought by Identity Politics

County Board Approves Land Swap Between Milwaukee County and Private Developer

"The land swap between Milwaukee County and Capstone Quadrangle is a win-win for everybody involved."

Comments

  1. Tami W says:

    *eyeroll* Rail increases bus ridership, not the other way around.

    If this gets railroaded (no pun intended) by conservatives again, I’m just quitting Milwaukee. I’ve been looking at other cities around the US and nearly every moderately sized city has some form of rail. Many of them with quite extensive systems. Some in some even traditionally *gasp* republican states.

    I am so incredibly sick of living in this podunk state.

  2. Beer Baron says:

    I’ll believe his sincerity when he lets buses roll into Franklin.

  3. labvelle says:

    does tami w need help movng?

  4. Justin Couperus says:

    This project has been in the works since 2011. You’ve had 4 years to do an impact analysis study. Why don’t you just call this what it really is? Another attempt to stop the project.

  5. Bruce Thompson says:

    If anything this should increase bus ridership. A concurring issue in public transportation is the “last mile” problem. The bus takes you downtown but not the part of downtown you need to be. The streetcar would tie downtown together.

    I don’t know much about Taylor but this isn’t promising.

  6. Michael says:

    If the county board is so concerned about rider revenue for MCTS, maybe they should not have recently eliminated fares for all seniors against their own user group’s recommendation.

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