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Waukesha Transit Commission approves reduced Route 1 frequency starting June 2
Summary
The Waukesha City Transit Commission voted unanimously to cut weekday and Saturday service on Route 1 beginning June 2, lengthening headways by a few minutes to save costs and allow the system to defer a bus replacement and reduce its spare roster.
The Waukesha City Transit Commission voted unanimously March 6 to reduce scheduled service levels on Route 1, a weekday line extended to Froedtert Hospital, with changes to take effect June 2.
Transit staff said the system averaged just under 700 rides per weekday on the extended Route 1 last year and that passengers per revenue hour on the route was 7.2 compared with a Metro system average of 7.9. Brian (transit staff) told the commission partners including Milwaukee County Transit System and Waukesha County reviewed the route after roughly 18 months of operation and proposed pulling one bus from weekdays and one bus from Saturdays to improve efficiency.
Commissioners were told the weekday daytime headway would change from about every 19 minutes to every 23 minutes, a roughly four-minute increase in wait time. Saturday daytime headways would change from about every 21 minutes to every 27 minutes, and Saturday evenings would move from about every 28 minutes to every 36 minutes. Staff said the largest drops in boardings occur Saturday evenings.
Brian said the city pays roughly 29% of the Route 1 operating cost, which the presenter calculated as the equivalent of just under 27 service hours per week. He estimated the change would save the city at least $60,000 in 2025 (with the June start date) and more than $100,000 on an annualized basis. Staff also said the service change would let the transit agency drop one bus from its fixed fleet roster and postpone replacement of that vehicle; the transcript did not specify the replacement date.
Commission discussion was limited to clarifying questions about endpoints and transfers. Commissioner Piper moved to approve the change as presented; Commissioner Kevin Riley seconded. The motion passed unanimously: Kassen — aye; Kevin Riley — aye; Piper — aye; O'Donnell — aye; Vanden — aye.
The commission emphasized that the change aims to improve efficiency while minimizing passenger impact. Staff said route consolidation and future service planning remain under consideration but that full Bus Rapid Transit infrastructure is not currently funded.
The commission's action is an operational service change; no additional policy vote or supplemental funding authorization was taken during the meeting.
