Your efforts to stop cuts in transit service have made an impact but more action is still needed to stop all cuts and fare increases!
Walker wants bus fare boosted to $2
Proposal wouldn’t eliminate routes
By LARRY SANDLER
lsandler@journalsentinel.comPosted: Sept. 17, 2007
Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker said Monday that he will recommend raising bus fare from $1.75 to $2 in his 2008 budget, but he won’t call for eliminating any bus routes or cutting back on paratransit service for the disabled.
It’s possible his budget will seek to shorten some Milwaukee County Transit System bus routes, Walker said, but he would be willing to work with the County Board to minimize service cuts as supervisors craft their version of the spending plan.
The basic bus fare would be the highest for any major U.S. public transit system, equaling the charge for bus and rail transit riders in Chicago, New York and Philadelphia. But Walker said preserving service is a higher priority than holding down prices.
Transit officials had proposed ending 13 bus routes, shortening 13 others and scaling back Transit Plus from its current countywide door-to-door service to the federal minimum standard, which is service within three-quarters of a mile of regular bus routes. Some bus routes would have been extended or restructured to cover a few areas that otherwise would have lost service.
Maintaining transit and paratransit service is crucial for residents to reach jobs and schools, Walker said. And during budget hearings, “people said overwhelmingly they wanted access to paratransit and no route eliminations,” he said, noting that sentiment came from employers as well as riders.
Reaction to Walker’s proposals was mixed, however, as riders expressed relief at the recommendation to keep service but dismay at the proposed fare increases, which include a boost from $3.25 to $4 for the Transit Plus vans for disabled riders.
“I’m glad he’s not making cuts, but I think it’s still an awfully big raise for a lot of people who can’t afford it,” said Arlene Conley, chairman of the county’s Transit Plus Advisory Council, which advocates for paratransit users. “That’s $1.50 round-trip.”
Matt Nelson, one of the organizers of the fledgling Milwaukee Transit Riders Union, was more outspoken.
“Any fare increases or cuts in service are unacceptable and will be fought by our membership,” now more than 400 strong, Nelson said. “A fare increase is a regressive tax and another example of Walker’s disregard for Milwaukee County residents.”
Walker said the fare increase would not affect the most loyal bus riders, because he is not seeking any change in weekly passes and sheets of 10 tickets. But he conceded those prices have risen $3 in two years, from $13 in 2005 to $16 now.
Some paratransit riders also receive free or discounted rides through various health care programs, Walker and Conley said.
If supervisors approve, this will be the eighth straight county budget to either cut bus service, raise fares or both. Walker and other local leaders are discussing creation of a regional transit authority that would take buses off the property tax, but they have yet to agree on a plan to present to the Legislature.
Riders had mobilized to protest after the transit system’s budget request became public. Nelson’s group launched a petition drive, Bay View residents staged weekly protest rides on targeted buses and disabled riders and their relatives pleaded their case in phone calls, letters and e-mails.
Transit officials said they proposed the cuts to meet Walker’s goal of holding the line on property taxes. But Walker said rising benefit costs and other factors also figured in the budget request.Nelson said his group’s efforts would now focus on supervisors. Walker is to present his budget Sept. 25, with board action in November.