Milwaukee County Transit System

MCTS is known for its bus drivers doing good deeds around the city of Milwaukee, such as rescuing lost children, helping people with disabilities cross busy streets, and much more. Videos of such acts have gone viral, placing MCTS in the national spotlight. This recognition has resulted in MCTS receiving honors from organizations such as PETA[4] to an Innovators Award from the American Public Transportation Association in July 2019.[5]

Because of the COVID-19, to maintain social distancing, each bus is allowed to carry only 15 passengers. Once the bus has 15 passengers, the bus will drive pass stops and those waiting must wait for the next bus. Face masks are now required on all MCTS Buses.[6] Passengers are also encouraged to limit interaction with the bus driver, and to use contactless fare forms, such as the M•CARD or Ride MCTS app. Freeway Flyers (routes 40, 43, 44, 46, 48, 49 & 79) and routes 137, 143, RR1, RR2 and RR3 are temporarily suspended until further notice. The MCTS Administration Building is also closed to visitors. [7]

MCTS bus 4413, a 2001 New Flyer D40LF

MCTS operates a fleet of about 180 New Flyer D40LFRs, 163 Xcelsior XD40s, and 51 Gillig Low Floor BRTs. Almost all buses are 40 feet (12 m) long, with the exception of the 5800 series XD40s being 41 feet long. 28 of the new Gillig Low Floor Advantage BRT 40 ft coaches were delivered in 2019 and were all in active revenue service as of July 11, 2019,[8] marking Gillig's first return to the MCTS fleet in years. Between July 10, 2019 - July 23, 2019, all New Flyer D40LFs have been officially taken out of service, ending a 23-year run of original low floor buses on the streets of Milwaukee. Between June and July 2020, the second set of Gillig BRTs were delivered, accounting for 23 more buses. The 4700 series and 4800 series 2003 - 2004 D40LFs were taken out of service by July 11, 2019, while the 4900 - 5000 series 2005-2006 D40LFs were retired by July 23, 2019. A 6100-6110 series is planned for the new East-West BRT Bus Rapid Transit project, which will open in Fall 2022.

For more information about the Milwaukee County Transit System, go to https://www.ridemcts.com.

Below are all the bus vehicles that are still active. Some are out of service due to accidents and fires. The discontinued series of buses are the New Flyer D40LFs are the 4000 series - 5000 series made from 1996 - January 2006. They were all retired by July 23, 2019.

This is a comprehensive list of MCTS bus routes that are currently active.[22]

There will be many changes to these routes, along with new routes in 2021 from the MCTS NEXT project (see below). Current Routes 64 and 67 are the only two routes slated for total elimination and retirement of route number, though most of their service areas will be picked up by new routes.

Freeway Flyer routes 40, 43, 44, 46, 48, 49, 79, 137 and 143 will be suspended until further notice due to the ongoing OVID-19 Pandemic. Routes 40U, 44U and 49U are back in service.

Currently discontinued bus routes to Waukesha County from a few years ago include: Route 6 - New Berlin Industrial Park Express (2014-2019), Route 61 - Appleton - Keefe (2015-2018, re-designated as Route 57 until 8/24/19) & Route 279 - Menomonee Falls Industrial Park Express (2014-2016). These routes made up the JobLines program, which stemmed from a lawsuit between the State of Wisconsin, the US Department of Transportation, the Milwaukee Inner-City Congregations Allied for Hope (MICAH) and the Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin (BHCW). The product of the lawsuit was a temporary settlement that would provide bus transportation to underrepresented communities in Milwaukee's inner-city. Funding eventually ran out for routes 6 and 279, and were subsequently eliminated. In response to funding running out for Route 61, Route 57 was reconfigured in 2019 to take over service on Keefe, Appleton and Silver Spring, and extended into Waukesha County until August 24, 2019. After this date, Route 57 no longer traveled into Waukesha County, with the Milwaukee County portion of the route remaining the same.[23]

In the first three months of the COVID-19 pandemic, while there was a 10-passenger bus limit, the PurpleLine was the most used route in the entire MCTS network. As a result, MCTS increased the frequency on weekdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. During the daytime, buses come every 8-12 minutes on weekdays (peaking up to 15 buses on the route at a time), and every 11-16 minutes on Saturdays and Sundays.[24]

MCTS is looking to provide "faster service with more connections and increased accessibility".[25] This project, under the name "MCTS NEXT", seeks to implement more high-frequency bus routes, while potentially eliminating lower-frequency routes. This will likely result in an overhaul of the transit system, with major changes including increased service on popular thoroughfares, routes being renamed, and some corridors becoming void of transit service. The project received approval from Milwaukee County in late September 2020. System changes will begin to roll out incrementally beginning in 2021.[26][27]

These are the routes that are planned to start in 2021 from the MCTS NEXT project.[28] This will occur in three phases, with some routes receiving changes in March 2021, then the second phase in June 2021, and the third in August 2021.[29][30]

Phase 1 (March 7, 2021): Routes 15, 19, 20, 31, 33, 35, 51, 52, 63 and 68

Phase 2 (June 6, 2021): PurpleLine and Routes 11, 12, 34, 57, 58, 80 and 88

Phase 3 (August 29, 2021): BlueLine, OrangeLine and Routes 22, 28, 54, 55, 56, 60, 66, 76 and 92

MCTS is a partner in the Southeast Wisconsin Transit System, a joint-venture transit partnership that also includes Waukesha Metro Transit and Wisconsin Coach Lines in Waukesha, Washington County Commuter Express operated by Riteway Bus Service in Richfield, Belle Urban System (THE BUS) in Racine and Kenosha Area Transit (KAT) in Kenosha.

4000-4099: Builder : New Flyer. Model : D40LF. Delivered : 1996. Discontinued : August 2010. 4100-4145: Builder : New Flyer. Model : D40LF. Delivered : 1997. Discontinued : August 2010. 4200-4208: Builder : New Flyer. Model : D40LF. Delivered : 1998. Discontinued : August 2010. 4300-4389: Builder : New Flyer. Model : D40LF. Delivered : 2000. Discontinued : August 2010. 4400-4468: Builder : New Flyer. Model : D40LF. Delivered : 2001. Discontinued : August 2010. 4500-4519: Builder : New Flyer. Model : D30LF. Delivered : 2002. Discontinued : August 2010. 4600-4639 : Builder : New Flyer. Model : D40LF. Delivered : 2002. Discontinued : May 2011. 4700-4750 : Builder : New Flyer. Model : D40LF. Delivered :

• Milwaukee County Transit System
• Milwaukee Streetcar Project
• Southeast Wisconsin Transit System website
• Milwaukee's transit history