Milwaukee County Transit System

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, face masks were required on all MCTS buses. In the early stages of the pandemic, there was a passenger limit of 10 passengers per bus, which was increased to 15, but rescinded on July 1, 2021.[10] Passengers were encouraged to limit interaction with the bus driver, exit through the back door, and to use contactless fare forms, such as the M•CARD or Ride MCTS app.[11]

MCTS is currently in the process of transitioning its fare collection system. Riders will continue to be able to pay fare via the Umo App using a credit or debit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. Instead of showing the validation code in the Umo app to the driver, mobile users will now have to hold the validation code up to new fare validators. There will be a new smartcard, the WisGo Card, that will effectively replace the M•CARD. The ability to load 1, 7 and 31-day passes will be eliminated in favor of stored value. The Go Pass and Reduced Fare programs are being consolidated into just the Reduced Fare Program. 90-minute transfers will be available for Umo app and WisGo card users and will cost $2 per transfer for regular adult fare, and $1 per transfer for reduced fare users. The new fare system will feature fare capping, ensuring regular riders do not pay more than $4 daily, $19.50 weekly, and $72 monthly, and reduced fare riders will not pay more than $2 daily, $11 weekly and $32 monthly. Cash will remain a payment option, but riders using cash will not be able to receive transfers or fare capping. [12]

U-Pass users will receive a WisGo smartcard that will provide them with unlimited rides. Commuter Value Pass users will also receive a WisGo smartcard from their employer that will allow them to continue riding the bus at a discounted rate. CVP users can also use the Umo app.[13]

March 2023: Umo app users will be able to receive the new fares beginning March 1.

April 2023: WisGo cards will be available for use April 1; riders can trade in their M•CARDs for a WisGo card for free until the end of June 2023.

August 2023: Riders can still use M•CARDs, but they will no longer be able to load value onto them starting August 1.

September 2023: M•CARDs will no longer be a valid payment method.

In 2015, 28 new New Flyer Xcelsior 5600 series (5600-5627) buses were acquired. These buses were the first MCTS buses to have an automatic opening rear door by virtue of a touch bar.[18]

One of MCTS's New Flyer D40LFR buses, downtown

MCTS operates a fleet of about 75 New Flyer D40LFRs, 163 Xcelsior XD40s, and 122 Gillig Low Floor BRTs. Almost all buses are 40 feet (12 m) long, with the exception of the 5800 series (5800-5814) XD40s being 41 feet long. 28 of the new Gillig Low Floor Advantage BRT 40-ft coaches (5900-5927) were delivered in 2019,[19] marking Gillig's first return to the MCTS fleet in years. The 4700 and 4800 series 2003-2004 New Flyer D40LFs were taken out of service by July 11, 2019, while the 4900 and 5000 series 2005-2006 New Flyer D40LFs were retired by July 23, 2019, 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 (6000-6022) were delivered, accounting for 23 more buses. In Spring 2022, MCTS introduced a third set of Gillig Low Floor BRTs (numbered 6100-6113). The 6100 series Gillig BRTs originally operated on low-use routes 11, 34, 68 and 88, due to testing of the new on-board Clever Devices systems, but now appear on all Fond Du Lac based routes.

From the summer through fall of 2022, MCTS took delivery of 59 brand new Gillig Advantage BRTs (numbered 6200-6258). These buses were in addition to the 14 6100 series units currently in service, bringing the total to 73. Combined, these buses will retire/replace the remaining 5100–5200 series New Flyer D40LFRs from 2010 to 2011.

As of mid-January 2023, the vast majority of 5100 and 5200 series New Flyer D40LFRs from 2010 and 2011 have been removed from service and officially retired, with the 5300 series D40LFRs from 2012 being the main fleet still in large numbers.

As of February 2023, most of the 6200 series buses have been put into service. All of the Fond Du Lac station's 30 buses have been put into service, and 19 of the Kinnickinnic station's 29 buses have been put into service. The remaining 10 are expected to enter service later in 2023.

15 Nova Bus LFSe+ battery electric buses numbered in the 1000 series (1000-1014) are planned for the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, now officially named MCTS Connect. The first 11 buses have arrived and will be placed into service for MCTS Connect on June 4, 2023. The remaining 4 will arrive later on in 2023.[20]This is Nova Bus' first order for the LFSe+ in the United States.

The Milwaukee County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) plans to seek approximately $55.2 million in federal grants for bus replacements to help finance the Milwaukee County Transit System's transition to an electric fleet. If the county secures the full grant awards MCTS is applying for, that would pay for 32 battery-electric buses and 60 clean-diesel buses.[21]

The East-West BRT, now known as MCTS Connect, is an upcoming 9-mile (14 km) route that will serve the region's most traveled corridor. The BRT route will run primarily along Wisconsin Avenue in Milwaukee and Bluemound Road in Wauwatosa, connecting riders from Downtown Milwaukee and Marquette University to the west side of the city to the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center (MRMC).[30] Its goal is to connect thousands of people to and from work, universities, and recreational centers. It will feature battery-electric buses which will receive traffic signal priority, off-board fare collection, special bus shelters with ramps for accessibility, and dedicated travel lanes along portions of the route.[31]

In late 2018, the project design was finalized, and subsequently received federal approval.[32] MCTS utilized a Small Starts Grant Agreement from the Federal Transit Administration, which accounts for $40.9 million of the $55 million project.[33]

On March 11, 2021, MCTS announced they selected Nova Bus as the manufacturer of 15 LFSe+ battery-electric buses, 11 of which will be used for the new BRT line. MCTS was the first transit system in the United States to have been awarded a contract for Nova LFSe+ buses.[34][35] The first 11 buses arrived in early 2023, and will be placed into service on June 4, 2023. The remaining 4 buses are to be delivered by the end of 2023. It is estimated that by 2035, MCTS Connect will average more than 9,500 weekday riders, with overall transit ridership in the corridor increasing by 17%.[36]

Currently, Milwaukee County and the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (SEWRPC) are engaged in a study of the 27th Street Corridor with regards to along and in a one-half-mile (2,600 ft; 0.80 km; 800 m) radius of the PurpleLine. Similar to the East-West BRT project, a considerable number of jobs, shopping centers, and medical facilities are along the PurpleLine. As a result, potential plans to enhance transit along this corridor could mean re-imagining the PurpleLine as a BRT line. This project, which began in late 2020, intends to build off of the East-West BRT Project, now officially named MCTS Connect, possibly offering another high-frequency service route. While the current PurpleLine is already a pseudo-express route, it does not offer authentic express service for the majority of the route, as on average, stops are 0.2 miles (1,100 ft; 0.32 km; 320 m) apart. This is one of the aspects of transit in this corridor that this project will address.[37]

The preliminary project plan has the feasibility study ending in 2021, with a concept being presented to the Federal Transit Administration in 2022. From there, funding will be considered and from 2023 to 2025, construction of the new service will begin. Early on, it is estimated that service would start around 2026 or 2027.[38]