In an effort to confront the $4 million hole punched into its budget by fare evasion in 2024, the Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) may soon drive forward with a new strategy. A resolution led by Supervisors Shawn Rolland, Jack Eckblad, Kathleen Vincent, Patti Logsdon, and Sky Z. Capriolo, which is swerving its way through the county bureaucracy, looks to tighten up fare collection without jeopardizing the safety of riders or bus operators. The MCTS and the supervisors believe that by steering fare evasion rates down from 25% to a more manageable 15%, the transit system could garner up to an additional $3 million in revenue, according to Milwaukee County officials.
Supervisor Rolland voiced his concerns about the prevailing issue, emphasizing the impact on reliable service required by a large swath of the community, “It’s time for the culture of fare evasion on Milwaukee County buses to come to an end,” he said, highlighting the unfair burden on a single mother working multiple jobs having to wait longer for her bus and pointed out that it’s not merely those in poverty skirting fares but professionals heading to the city’s heart, as Rolland, a regular bus rider himself, has observed, this was detailed in a statement released by Milwaukee County.
Addressing the significance of public transportation for the community, Supervisor Eckblad added, “Milwaukee without public transportation is not an option,” signaling the board’s readiness to back the necessary reforms to MCTS. Supervisor Vincent commented on the resolution’s aim to balance equity with efficacy, “This resolution isn’t about penalizing our most vulnerable neighbors—it’s about ensuring everyone pays their fair share so we can protect and expand service where it’s needed most,” pinpointing the goal of data-driven adaptation to habitual evasion that won’t endanger the MCTS users that rely on it every day, as per the Milwaukee County website…