Significant reductions in Route 15 and the end of the South Shore Flyer are just two of the changes contained in the proposed 2012 Milwaukee County Transit System budget – a document that includes what some are calling the biggest single-year cut in transit service in the 150-year history of the system.
Looking at the proposed changes, I can’t disagree.
Here is what’s being proposed …
For starters, the proposed budget calls for the elimination of all Freeway Flyer routes, including the No. 48 South Shore Flyer, which passes through South Milwaukee and Cudahy.
Additionally, South Milwaukee would no longer be served by Route 15 as part of a significant, and complicated, “restructuring.” Among the details:
- The South Milwaukee “loop” would disappear, with all bus service on Madison, 5th and Columbia Avenues being discontinued.
- Service on Chicago, Packard and Kinnickinnic Avenues would now be run on an “extended” Route 51, instead of the 15 – with this service then connecting to the 15 in Bay View. This means those taking a bus from South Milwaukee to downtown South Milwaukee, for example, would have to transfer.
- Service on 15th and 17th Avenues, as well as Pennsylvania, College and Clement Avenues, would also be reduced, as the No. 15 bus is replaced by a so-called “low frequency” Route 52 on that stretch.
Find out more details about the proposed Route 15/51 changes here. And learn more about all of the proposed cuts from this press release from Transit Now, which also includes links to an informative one-pager on the proposed cuts.
A detailed summary of the proposed MCTS budget can be found on its website.
Also, you can learn about the proposed cuts (and other budget issues) at two Milwaukee County budget listening sessions coming up this week. Both are from 5 to 7 p.m.
- Wednesday: Kelly Senior Center, 6100 S. Lake Drive, Cudahy
- Thursday: Washington Park Senior Center, 4420 W. Vliet St., Milwaukee
I hope you can attend and share a strong voice in favor of saving our city’s bus service.
Our transit system, once recognized as the best in the country, is now careening toward irrelevance. And we’re watching it happen, as the death spiral of increased fares and service cuts continues.
Of course, it’s more personal this time. These changes threaten to completely cut off residents of large parts of our city from jobs, retail centers, schools and other destinations. And it threatens local employers who rely on their workers having adequate bus service to get to their jobs. In that way, this is an economic development issue.
I firmly believe that this proposed level of transit service would instantly make South Milwaukee less competitive. That’s something we should all be concerned about — whether you ride the bus or not.
South Milwaukee Blog 
How many residents from South Milwaukee rely on public transportation…really, how many? How many companies in South Milwaukee rely on public transportation so their employees can get to and from work…really, how many?
Great question. I think the answer is “enough,” especially places like Franciscan Villa and Willowcrest. Of course, I realize ridership is low, or these routes wouldn’t be on the chopping (or restructuring) block. But I feel we need a strong transit system to remain competitive as a city and region. Strong bus service has to be an option — a “tool” in the transporation “toolbox,” as Scott Walker might put it. I also argue that a good part of low ridership is driven by the reductions in service and increases in fares we’ve already seen — the “service cuts and fare increases leads to decreased ridership and more service cuts and fare increases” death spiral.
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