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January 31, 2012 by

Thanks to volunteers for talking to bus riders

We would ike to extend a sincere thank you to the volunteers that showed up to help us talk to bus riders and pass out information and comment cards about the changes. Our face-to-face efforts helped people understand the changes.

You may have seen or heard us on WUWM, TMJ4 or FOX6, or read us in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel discussing our concerns with the GreenLine MetroEXpress, the service that replaced Route 15 on Oakland Avenue. We compared the new GreenLine schedules to the Route 15 schedules (prior to the changed routing) and found that service was scheduled to run significantly slower than the previous Route 15 service on Oakland between Wisconsin and Bayshore, despite MCTS removing roughly a dozen stops in each direction and increasing frequency. It is our position that since this service was marketed as a faster trip than the 15, it should be. The transit system countered by their Route 15 schedules were incorrect (even though they had made no prior efforts to correct them) and that the new service would be faster – while offering no proof of this.

As it stands now, a trip on the GreenLine from Wisconsin to Bayshore takes approximately 35-45 minutes. Of the three current routes that go to Bayshore from Downtown to Bayshore, the GreenLine is actually the slowest.

Bus Route Travel Time
Rt. 10 Cass/Wisconsin to Bayshore(The bus hits Cass roughly 3 minutes after it leaves Water/Wisconsin) 28-30 minutes
Rt. 15 Milwaukee/Wisconsin to Bayshore 19-32 minutes
GreenLine Water/Wisconsin to Bayshore 35-45 minutes

Eliminating stops and increasing frequency should have the opposite effect. The other two express routes, the BlueLine and RedLine, have eliminated stops and boosted frequency and as a result buses are running faster. Why can’t riders on the new GreenLine expect the same?

We think it may have something to do with the planning. Unlike the Red and Blue lines, the GreenLine was not designed to run alongside a local route. On the RedLine, for instance, it operates alongside Route 62. While Route 62 can accomodate the short-trip neighborhood riders, the RedLine can accomodate long-distance crosstown riders. The end result: buses don’t have to stop so often. This does not exist for the GreenLine – there is no local route, so all riders have to ride one bus; a bus that will make frequent stops. This is not express service.

In the coming months we will continue working hard for better transit in the region, more outreach and accountability to riders and solutions to the budget problems of MCTS. These changes were a creative use of a two-year grant. If we do not address the funding problems that MCTS has, we will be back at square one in two years’ time.

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January 24, 2012 by

MetroEXpress routes a mixed blessing

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.

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January 12, 2012 by

Upcoming changes to Milwaukee bus service

On January 29, 2012 there will be several changes to how us bus riders get around in Milwaukee.

Riders of Routes 11, 15, 18, 23 and 62 will have to make some adjustments to how they get around. New color coded express routes are being introduced as part of a complicated move by MCTS to stave off service cuts by replacing busy local service with new express bus routes funded with federal money.

Why is this happening?
In his 2011-2013 budget, Governor Scott Walker slashed the amount of money that the Milwaukee County Transit System gets each year from the State of Wisconsin. As a result of this cut and limitations on how communities can raise more money, the bus system was planning on cutting about 20% of service. This is why we were pushing for a Vehicle Registration Fee to fund transit; it would have raised enough money to keep the system intact and it does not require any approval from the State legislature or Governor.

Ultimately, County Executive Chris Abele applied for a Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) grant to fill the hole in MCTS’s budget. The catch: CMAQ funds can only be used for brand new service. CMAQ funds can not be used to keep current routes running. The solution? Create express routes out of the busiest routes in the system. Eliminate most or all of the current local service along the current routes 11, 15, 18 & 23 and use the money saved (or ‘freed up’) to keep the other routes running.

What is changing?
MCTS has released a special issue of BusLines with the maps of the new routes included. The route changes are as follows:

Route 11 Holton-Greenfield/Howell

  • ELIMINATED
  • Holton branch becomes part of Route 15
  • Greenfield branch becomes part of a new Route 56
  • Howell branch becomes part of the limited stop GreenLine MetroEXpress
  • Service to Centennial Plaza (43rd/Lincoln) and the Bolivar-Pine-Layton loop is eliminated

Route 15 Oakland-Kinnickinnic

  • RENAMED: 15 Holton-Kinnickinnic
  • Current 15 service north of 1st/Pittsburgh becomes part of the limited stop GreenLine MetroEXpress
  • Will operate via the current Holton branch of Rt. 11 to Bayshore
  • Clement-Pennsylvania-15th Av branch becomes Route 52 (evening and night service is eliminated)
  • All trips will operate via 5th Av-Columbia to Chicago/Drexel

Route 18 National-Greenfield

  • ELIMINATED
  • Service east of 70th/Greenfield becomes part of Route 23
  • 124th via Greenfield branch becomes part of the new Route 56
  • National branch becomes part of Rt. 54. Service on S. 92nd is eliminated

Route 23 Fond du Lac Avenue

  • RENAMED: 23 Fond du Lac-National
  • Mill via 64th branch becomes part of BlueLine MetroEXpress
  • Service east of 2nd on Wisconsin is eliminated
  • Takes on current Route 18 between Wisconsin and 70th/Greenfield

Route 62 Capitol Drive

  • Service east of Humboldt becomes part of RedLine MetroEXpress
  • Service west of 76th becomes part of RedLine MetroEXpress

Route 63 Silver Spring Drive

  • RENAMED: 63 Silver Spring-Port Washington
  • Takes on the part of the current Route 68 between Bayshore and Glencoe (Green Tree-Lake Drive-Brown Deer segment is eliminated)

Route 68 Port Washington Road

  • ELIMINATED
  • Current segment between Bayshore and Glencoe becomes part of Rt. 63
  • Current segment between Bayshore and Capitol becomes part of Rt. 15
  • Service on Port Washington between Keefe and Capitol is eliminated
  • Service on the Green Tree-Lake Drive-Brown Deer loop is eliminated

New routes

  • GreenLine MetroEXpress – Limited stop route comprised of the current Rt. 15 north of Pittsburgh and current Rt. 11 south of Pittsburgh with an extension to the Airport
  • BlueLine MetroEXpress – Limited stop route comprised of the current Route 23 Mill Road – 64th Street and current Route 18 east of 70th
  • RedLine MetroEXpress – Limited stop route comprised of the current Route 62
  • Route 52 Clement-15th Avenue – Limited service route comprised of the current Route 15 Clement-Pennsylvania-15th Av branch. Set to operate seven days a week, mornings, mid-days and afternoons. Service after approximately 6:00pm is eliminated
  • Route 56 Greenfield Avenue – Regular route running between 1st/Michell and 124th/Greenfield via 1st-Greenfield-43rd-Burnham-60th-Greenfield

Will this improve service?
It depends on where you are. These routes were designed with the purpose of saving money and riders had no ability to weigh in on the designs. Some residential areas will have no local bus service and bus riders will have to walk several blocks to catch a bus. On the other hand, the limited stop service may benefit commuters traveling from the central city to outlying areas by decreasing their travel time. Time will tell whether or not the MetroEXpress service is successful in shortening trip times, however bus riders should take note that the money funding this service is temporary and will expire in two years.

Getting dedicated funding for the transit system is as important now as ever
The CMAQ grants that funded his service are meant as start-up assistance for new routes. These particular grants run out in two years, at which point the County will be expected to fund the service. If we do not get the transit system off of the property tax, we face the loss of this service once this money runs out, or even the loss of other routes before that time due to rising fuel prices and declining home values in Milwaukee County.

This year, the Milwaukee Transit Riders Union will be renewing it’s push for dedicated funding wih more energy than before. As bus riders, it is essential that we be heard on policy and funding matters for the transit system. We need to be part of this, as we know the bus system, we ride the bus system and we are the most affected when services are cut.

On Saturday January 28, 2012 at 12:00pm we will be hitting the streets of Downtown Milwaukee to inform bus riders of the changes, listen to their concerns and pass out information. If you would like to join us, let us know.

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