MCTS same‑day paratransit pilot sees rapid growth; county must decide whether to fund expansion

Milwaukee — Milwaukee County Transit System officials reported that the Transit Plus same‑day paratransit pilot, launched in late 2024, has moved from very low usage to rapidly rising demand and is approaching the limits of its current pilot funding.

Fran Mousy, MCTS director of paratransit, told the County Transportation and Transit Committee the program had very low use through February (about 46 rides for roughly 20 clients that month) but ridership accelerated after the program’s March parameter changes. Mousy said June included roughly 334 trips for 448 riders and through May the pilot had 191 unique clients out of approximately 5,800 eligible paratransit riders.

Why it matters: MCTS said the program is costly. Officials reported an operating contract rate of $98.73 per vehicle hour, and said the May cost per client trip was approximately $207 while the average paratransit van trip costs about $59. Administrative costs were listed at roughly $60,000 per year. MCTS reported approximately $438,500 remained in pilot funds after the May invoice; at current demand that balance could be exhausted before year‑end.

Options and tradeoffs outlined Mousy described three short‑term levers to preserve funds if demand continues upward: - Add vehicle hours (but that would exhaust remaining pilot funds quickly, possibly by August); - Reallocate weekend hours to weekday afternoons (move low‑demand weekend hours into higher‑demand weekday slots to maximize access during the busiest 2–5 p.m. period); - Convert vendor drivers from employee model to an independent‑contractor model — MCTS said this would reduce operating cost by about $13 per hour but raised concerns among task‑force members about worker protections and service reliability. The vendor told staff it would use contractual terms to require contractor availability and limit refusals.

Longer‑term estimate MCTS shared a vendor estimate that keeping the program’s unfulfilled request rate below about 7% at current demand would require roughly 356 vehicle hours per week. That service level would cost an estimated $1.6 million to $1.9 million annually depending on the driver model chosen; further demand growth would increase costs.

Committee action and public feedback The committee received and placed the informational report on file (motion by Supervisor Coggs Jones; vote recorded 4–0). Supervisors and speakers raised questions about equity (who the pilot serves), possible cannibalization of regular paratransit and whether opening the program to broader trip purposes had altered demand. Mousy said 63% of pilot trips were taken for “other” purposes after program parameters were broadened; MCTS staff said nearly half of the users were not regular paratransit riders prior to the pilot. Several mobility advocates and riders testified in support of keeping or funding the program, citing independence and access to jobs, healthcare and community activities.

Next steps MCTS said it would seek task‑force input, revisit weekend vs. weekday allocations, continue vendor negotiations and bring funding proposals forward for 2026 budget consideration. The department told the committee it views the pilot as discretionary and requested the board identify ongoing funds if it is to be continued permanently.

Speakers (first reference): Fran Mousy, Director of Paratransit, Milwaukee County Transit System; Via (contractor) referenced by MCTS; Supervisor Kevin Polinski (questioner); numerous public commenters who use paratransit.