Committee rejects amendment and recommends approving end of TNC van relief pilot amid dispute over $35,000 reallocation

Milwaukee County’s Committee on Transit and Transportation on an 5‑0 vote recommended adoption of a county budget amendment that would not implement the transportation network companies (TNC) van driver relief pilot as directed in the 2025 adopted budget, after rejecting an amendment that sought to reallocate $35,000 to overtime for in‑house public safety officers.

Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) leaders Kevin Pumphrey, chief operating officer, and Julie Esch, interim director, told the committee they had operated a van‑based pilot for nearly a year but concluded the limited funding and operational constraints made a different allocation of the money more productive. Pumphrey said the agency could use the funds to expand public safety officer (PSO) and transit safety officer (TSO) overtime and training, arguing PSOs cover more ground and are more likely to…