Milwaukee County officials have announced today that they will seek bids for management of the transit system. (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel story)
The Milwaukee County Transit System is partially privatized. Milwaukee County government owns the buses and buildings and sets policy like fares and routes. The actual day-to-day managing, community relations and planning is done by a private company; Milwaukee Transport Services, Inc.
Milwaukee Transport Services, Inc. (MTS) has been managing the transit system since 1975. They have their own set of positives and negatives; on the plus side they are a not-for-profit and as a result they are not profit-driven to provide the least amount of service for the highest cost. On the down side they are not as open and transparent as they should be, which presents serious questions about their accountability. They have also been very reluctant to embrace innovations that make riding the bus more pleasant and attract new riders.
We will be discussing this issue in depth as an organization to find out what can be done as part of the contract process to make bus riders’ experiences better. For instance, the county can add performance measures to the contract that mandate improvements to attract new riders and help transit dependent riders.