Public to be hit with hidden fare increase

Published on September 25, 2008 in News. 0 Comments

Milwaukee will have the highest bus fare in the entire nation if County Executive Scott Walker’s proposed budget is passed. Under the new plan, regular adult cash fares will rise to $2.25, Freeway Flyers will rise to $3.00, and Half Fares will rise to $1.10. People who buy passes and tickets will be hit as well, with a 50 cent increase to $16.50.

The public was not notified of this increase ahead of time, although Walker repeatedly stated in the months leading up to the budget that ‘no bus service will be reduced’. This was a blatantly dishonest approach to the transit budget.

The Milwaukee Transit Riders Union reiterates it’s position on fare hikes. We want a fare freeze, so that working people aren’t forced to pay even more for less and less transit service.

MTRU Position on Sales Tax Referendum

Published on June 30, 2008 in News. 0 Comments

Sunday, June 29, 2008

For immediate release

Contact: Samuel Jensen (414) 405 6753
or Matt Nelson (414) 273 9777
www.transitridersunion.org
transitridersunion@gmail.com

The people deserve the opportunity to vote on sales tax

The advisory sales tax referendum proposal passed by the Milwaukee County Board on Thursday, June 26, has the possibility of providing stable support for vital county services and deserves to be taken to the people on November 4. The Milwaukee Transit Riders Union urges the Milwaukee County Board to show the vision and courage to override County Executive Scott Walker’s promised veto of the referendum.

The sales tax referendum approved by the Milwaukee County Board offers a real opportunity for Milwaukee County residents to have a say in how they want to fund essential county services. The referendum’s proposed 1% sales tax increase, if allowed by the state and passed by the county board, would provide over $67 million in property tax relief (over $170 a year for a house valued at $165,000).

The referendum would take the Milwaukee County Transit System off the property tax and provide $30-40 million in extra funding for transit.

“This extra funding can help replace MCTS’s aging buses, restore services cut since 1999, and allow the system to modernize to the level of most other major American transit systems- real improvement which would improve the daily lives of Milwaukeeans, giving people more mobility and cleaning up our environment,” said Samuel Jensen from the Transit Riders Union

“While the Transit Riders Union would prefer a stronger, binding referendum, given the current stalemate in transit issues in Milwaukee, this referendum is a productive first step, which can give legislators the political backing to fund transit and other county services properly,” said Samuel Jensen of the Milwaukee Transit Riders Union.

The Transit Riders Union urges all Milwaukee County residents to contact their county supervisor and urge them to show support for funding our essential county services, including MCTS , and override Scott Walker’s upcoming veto.

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For more information, contact: Samuel Jensen (414) 405 6753, or Matt Nelson (414) 273 9777

www.transitridersunion.org

Sales Tax Press Release (pdf)

Referendum and Explanation as Passed by the County Board (pdf)

Bus come late today? Tell us about your experiences with MCTS

Published on April 24, 2008 in News. 0 Comments

Did your bus come late today? Was it unusually dirty or loud? Is there a bus stop near you that needs to be repaired or improved in some way? Tell us about it.

Why send complaints to us instead of just to MCTS itself?

The Milwaukee Transit Riders Union is trying to compile rider complaints or specific suggestions for improved transit service. We are doing this so that we can track the improvement that can be made by sending complaints to the bus system. Sending multiple complaints en masse about a single bus, driver, stop, or route also helps us achieve real change by showing serious and persistent problems.

Send a compliant via our website: click here

Open House for UWM Transit Planning Project this Saturday

Published on April 24, 2008 in News. 0 Comments

The Milwaukee Transit Riders Union will be hosting a presentation and open house organised by students from the School of Urban Planning at UWM this Saturday. The Transit Riders Union is functioning as a client for a transit visioning and planning project at the school. The students will be presenting the results of their project as well as gathering public input. All interested in the future of public transit in our area are encouraged to attend.

The presentation and open house will occur during the Transit Riders Union meeting this Saturday, at 11:15 am, at Brewing Grounds for Change Coffeehouse. Agendas will be available before the meeting.

Brewing Grounds is located at 2008 N. Farwell on Milwaukee’s East Side. It is located on rt. 30, is one block east of rt. 15, and 3 blocks south of rt. 21. More detailed directions are available in the Meetings section of the website.

Vote on Tuesday, April 1

Published on March 29, 2008 in News. 0 Comments

Vote Pro-Transit on Tuesday, April 1!

Local and statewide elections will be held this Tuesday, April 1. All Milwaukee County supervisors, as well as the county executive will be up for election. Within the city of Milwaukee, aldermen, the city attorney, and the mayor are also up for election.

Polls are open from 7AM to 8PM. All employers are required by state law to allow their employees to take up to 3 hours off from work to vote, so long as they request the time off before the day of the election.

Milwaukee County Candidates

Map of Milwaukee County Supervisory Districts

City of Milwaukee Candidates

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Elections Website (has information and articles on all city, county, and suburban races)

Shepherd Express Website (has information about and endorsements for city and county races)

89.7 WUWM Public Radio Elections Website (has information about all elections as well as interviews with some of the candidates)

How and where to vote in the city of Milwaukee

For information about voting in the suburbs, contact your local government:

Brown Deer: 371-3000

River Hills: 352-8213

Bayside: 351-8811

Glendale: 288-1700

Fox Point: 351-8900

Whitefish Bay: 962-6690

Shorewood: 847-2700

Wauwatosa: 479-8900

West Allis: 302-8200

West Milwaukee: 645-1530

Greenfield: 329-5219

Greendale: 423-2100

Hales Corners: 529-6161

Franklin: 425-7500

St. Francis: 481-2300

Cudahy: 769-2204

South Milwaukee: 762-2222

Oak Creek: 768-6500

MTRU Featured in Journal-Sentinel Online Column

Published on March 29, 2008 in News. 0 Comments

The Milwaukee Transit Riders Union was recently featured in a column on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel website. The column, written by former county and city hall reporter Larry Sandler, outlines the two candidates for county executive’s- State Senator Lena Taylor and incumbent Scott Walker- positions on different public transit issues.

It can be accessed here

MTRU Urges County Exec Candidates to Get Real About Transit

Published on March 18, 2008 in News. 0 Comments

Tuesday, 18 March 2008                                                     For immediate release

 

Contact: Samuel Jensen (414) 405 6753

or Matt Nelson (414) 273 9777

www.transitridersunion.org

 

Candidates lack transit vision

 

The Milwaukee Transit Riders Union on Tuesday urged both candidates for Milwaukee County executive to get serious about public transit. “Both County Executive Scott Walker and his challenger, State Senator Lena Taylor, lack realistic plans for dealing with Milwaukee County’s transit issues,” said Samuel Jensen, organizer with the Transit Riders Union. “Both candidates have spoken of the funding issues surrounding bus service in Milwaukee County, but neither candidate has put forth a realistic plan to solve them.”

 

During his first two terms Walker has repeatedly cut bus service and raised fares.

 

“Scott Walker’s inability to come to an agreement with other regional leaders on funding sources for the KRM Commuter Rail connection to Chicago and the Milwaukee Connector has left both projects stalled by the side of the road, with over $91 million in federal dollars soon to be lost to other cities,” Jensen said. “His only proposal for solving MCTS’s funding crisis involves increased state funds, an unrealistic proposition in a time of large state budget shortfalls.

 

“While his opponent, Senator Taylor, has repeatedly stated the importance of public transit in our county, she has yet to come forth with any proposals of her own on how to solve the current funding crisis. She has also not come forth with any proposal to get the KRM and Milwaukee Connector projects back on track,” added Jensen.

 

The Milwaukee Transit Riders Union urges both candidates to come up with detailed, realistic proposals for dealing with the serious issues surrounding public transit in our community before it’s too late.

 

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For more information, contact Samuel Jensen (414) 405 6753 or Matt Nelson (414) 273 9777.

www.transitridersunion.org

 

MCTS to give presentation this Saturday

Published on March 8, 2008 in News. 0 Comments

Representatives from the Milwaukee County Transit System will give a short presentation at the Transit Riders Union meeting this Saturday outlining upcoming service reductions.

As per the current Milwaukee County budget, a number of routes will be shortened and/or reorganised later this month. Anyone interested in learning more about these cuts in service should attend the meeting this Saturday.

The meeting will be at 11:15 at Brewing Grounds for Change Coffee Shop, 2008 N. Farwell.

No bus service Wednesday Night, 06 Feb.

Published on February 6, 2008 in News. 0 Comments

According to MCTS, bus service in Milwaukee County was suspended entirely at 5:30 today due to the snowstorm. Additionally, Waukesha Metro Transit service will end at 7:15 p.m.

Service is planned to resume as usual for both systems on Thursday morning.

For more information, visit: MCTS- www.ridemcts.com and Waukesha Metro Transit- www.waukeshametro.org.

Bus schedules to change December 30

Published on December 26, 2007 in News. 0 Comments

This is a reminder that MCTS bus schedules will be changing as usual on December 30. The routes preview is now available on the MCTS website: http://www.ridemcts.com/preview/. There will be some small reductions in the number of trips, as well as the shortening of route 53. More changes are expected this spring, along with the cutting of sections of certain routes. We will post more information on this spring’s schedule changes when it becomes available.