(The Center Square) – One of suburban Milwaukee’s Republican congressmen says the federal government must provide oversight to Milwaukee’s bus system.
Congressman Bryan Steil last week wrote to the nation’s transportation secretary, asking for federal oversight after reports showed that a full third of people riding Milwaukee County buses are not paying fares.
“We need far more transparency about what’s going on. Why did it take investigative reporters to discover this? Why wasn’t this front and center in front of Milwaukee County leaders?” Steil said Tuesday on News Talk 1130 WISN. “Oversight, standards, transparency. This is what the federal government apparently has to provide, because Milwaukee County Transit System is not going to do it themselves.”
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last week first reported that nearly 3.5 million people haven’t paid fares so far this year. At $2 per-fare, that’s nearly $7 million.
Steil said that’s clearly one reason why Milwaukee County’s Transit System is running an $11 million deficit.
“One-out-of-three people are walking right by the fare box,” Steil added. “You know who that’s really unfair to? The two-out-of-three people that are actually playing by the rules in paying their way. So, this is all about oversight, about transparency, and about the United States Department of Transportation having standards that we’re going to enforce.”
Steil said the federal government “subsidizes” Milwaukee County’s bus system by about $50 million.
“We have President Trump in office if we can finally address the waste, fraud, and abuse that’s occurring with the massive amount of taxpayer dollars that are going to a whole host of programs across the country,” Steil said. “We should be making sure that we have some oversight, clear standards, and transparency about what’s going on in Milwaukee County. That we’re operating fairly and efficiently, because at the end of the day this is taxpayer money that’s being lost by the fact that Milwaukee is not enforcing the rule of law.”
