(The Center Square) – The Milwaukee County Transit System announced several new bus route changes and service hour cuts coming Aug. 24.
The cuts will help Wisconsin’s largest public transit system offset a projected $10.9 million budget deficit that it says happened due to unexpected expenses and lower passenger revenue.
While 20,000 service hours will be cut by the end of the year, MCTS stated the cuts would affect the least busy times of transit usage.
“These adjustments will affect non-peak weekday high-frequency routes with the lowest ridership mid-day, and frequency levels on Saturdays,” MCTS said. “No routes will be cut.”
40 of the system’s 46 routes will experience service hour or route changes, and frequency cuts will come to 17 current bus routes.
While service changes occur four times a year, the changes were exacerbated by the surprise $10.9 million budget deficit discovered in June.
Even after these cuts, MCTS still faces a structural budget deficit between $12 million and $18 million and the end of federal stimulus funding by 2026.
Some top transit and transportation officials recently said the system is “too big for the current budget” and that further service cuts in 2026 remain possible, Urban Milwaukee reported.
