We’ve been crunching the numbers on the new schedules here at the Milwaukee Transit Riders Union, comparing them with he current schedules to see how riders will fare under the new MetroEXpress service to go into effect Sunday.

We’ve got mixed results. The BlueLine (Fond du Lac/National) will run 0-16% faster between Downtown and 60th/Congress – a big step up considering that they are not doing any transit-priority road work such as bus lanes or traffic signal priority (buses canbe equipped with transponders that ‘hold’ green lights for them.) The biggest improvement is during the afternoon rush. This is good news for Route 23 riders we have talked to who have expressed concerns about slow travel times and bus bunching during the afternoons.

The RedLine (Capitol Drive) will run 0-12% faster than the current Route 62. The biggest improvements are during the early morning and afternoon rush periods. This probably has to do with the schools along Capitol Drive. There are four large high schools that are served by Route 62. With the introduction of express service along Capitol Drive, the crowding and schedule problems associated with transporting such a large number of students on one bus route shoud be alleviated.

The GreenLine, however, will actually run slower than the current Route 15 from Downtown to Bayshore by 0-27%. The biggest increases are at 6:00am and after 8:00pm in the evening. There is no change in travel time during the evening rush and a 7.5% increase for northbound trips during the morning rush. We have contacted the Milwaukee County Transit System Scheduling Department regarding these slower trip times and have been informed that this is because the 15 schedule was “inaccurate”. With approximately a dozen stops between Bayshore and Wisconsin Avenue being eliminated, we would hope that this express route, billed as a faster service compared to the current Route 15, would actually function as such.

Riders have asked us: Why are all these changes happening, especially to the busiest routes?  I would like to take this opportunity to let anyone unaware of the situation know. After Governor Walker slashed state aid to the bus system by 10% this left the transit system in a budget crisis. State aid accounts for 42% of MCTS’s budget – it is the biggest source of revenue for the bus system, followed by passenger fares and county property taxes. With the transit sales tax stalled at the state level and unlikely to be advanced in the near future, we embarked on a dedicated funding campaign around the Vehicle Registration Fee, which is lower in Wisconsin than most midwest states and does not require any action from the State. We are reevaluating this idea in the face of pending state legislation undermining local control of the VRF and the award of Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) funds to fill the budget hole.

There is a catch with the CMAQ program: the money can only be used to start new routes. This is why the transit system is reducing local service (which is funded by the county) and in many areas, replacing it with the new express service (funded with CMAQ).

The other catch is that this money expires after two years – leaving us back at square one if we do not change the way that the bus system is funded.

We will be talking to bus riders again this Saturday. Join us as we talk to bus riders about the upcoming service changes and get their opinions. We will meet at noon at Stone Creek in the Grand Avenue Mall – in the skyway over 2nd Street. We will warm up with a cup of coffee and then hit the bus stops to talk with bus riders and hear what they have to say about the changes.

Get to the mall on bus routes: 10, 12, 14, 18, 19, 23, 30 and 31.
Routes 14 & 23 stop at 2nd/Wisconsin going east.
Routes 10(Detour), 18, 19 & 30(Detour) stop at 2nd/Wisconsin going south.
Routes 12, 14, 23 & 31 stop at 2nd/Wisconsin going west.
Routes 12 & 31 stop at 3rd/Wisconsin going east.
Routes 10 & 30 stop on Plankinton/Wisconsin going east.

Walk down 2nd to the skyway and crosswalk and enter the Plankinton Building (east side of the street). Take the elevator up to the 2nd floor and enter the skyway.