Chris Abele
MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele has unveiled a new website to update the community on the Milwaukee County transit system and what you need to know.
The Milwaukee Courier got an early look at the website titled “Moving Forward: Transit in Milwaukee County.”
The website (www.County.Milwaukee.Gov/ Transit) includes a letter from County Executive Abele explaining why he thinks transit is such a critical resource to help people get to work, school and run errands.
“For many Milwaukeeans transit is simply something that exists, but I know how crucial it is to people across Milwaukee County.
For the three years I’ve been in office I’ve worked hard not to raise fares and I’ve added more than 100 new buses, however our transit system needs to do more,”
County Executive Abele told the Milwaukee Courier. “As our new website explains, I believe we have a great opportunity to modernize our transit system and bring better service and more value for riders.” County Executive Abele explained he’s already been working with local and national transit experts to find “the most efficient way to run the transit system.” “We’ve already discovered opportunities to add more service and save money,” said County Executive Abele said. “The money we save will go back into the transit system to add more routes and possibly lower fares for the 151,000 people who ride the bus in Milwaukee County every day.”
The Milwaukee County transit system has been managed and operated by a private provider, Milwaukee Transport Services (MTS), for more than three decades. All transit employees, including bus drivers, maintenance workers, and administrative/management staff are employees of that firm, not County employees. The physical equipment, such as the buses themselves, is owned by Milwaukee County but maintained by the private provider. The County sets the fares and routes.
“When I took office in 2011 our transit system was reeling from a decade of fare hikes and route cuts. I can’t go back in time to undo the damage but I have worked hard to turn things around. I’ve refused to raise fares and I’m proud that this year we even added new bus service,” County Executive Abele said. “I’m passionate about improving our transit system for the people who rely on it every day to get to work and school.”
For more information you can visit www.County. Milwaukee.Gov/Transit.