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Waukesha Transit advances proposed route cuts including 16% reduction to Route 1
Summary
The Waukesha Transit Commission voted to advance proposed service changes — including a roughly 16% reduction in Route 1 hours and schedule cuts on Routes 5, 6, 9 and 15 — for further review after a staff presentation and questions about impact on shift workers.
Waukesha Metro staff presented a package of proposed service reductions the Transit Commission agreed on Thursday to advance for further review, including a roughly 16% reduction in total Route 1 service hours.
Brian, a Waukesha Metro staff presenter, said the weekday change would reduce Route 1 from five buses to four and cut Saturday service from four buses to three, producing modestly longer waits — “a little bit of 15 minutes later on weekdays” and longer intervals on weekends — while preserving basic service. He said Milwaukee and Waukesha counties together provide more than 70% of Route 1’s funding and that Milwaukee County specifically requested the cost savings.
The proposal would also reduce or eliminate low-ridership trips on other lines: Saturday and Sunday reductions on Route 5 while keeping service to Fox River shopping destinations; elimination of the last weekday trip on Route 6 and several low-ridership Sunday trips with a routing change to serve Badger Drive only during weekday peak periods; elimination of the last Saturday trip on Route 9; and reverting Route 15 from a 45-minute to a 60-minute schedule while removing an early inbound partial run around 6:15 a.m. due to very low ridership.
Commissioner Kevin Riley asked whether the eliminated trips serve shift workers at hospitals and other employers. Brian replied the data do not show strong shift-driven ridership at those times: “the 11:30 bus that leaves Freighter had virtually no one,” and early morning departures typically carried only a few riders, he said. Brian added that Metro would adjust Metro Lift trips to match Route 1’s hours and expected “we may have to adjust a trip or two.”
After the presentation and questions, Kevin Riley moved to accept the proposed changes for review; the motion was seconded and the commission voted to advance the proposal. The vote carried and the item will return for further action after review.
What happens next: staff will finalize a review record and any required public-notice steps before the commission considers final adoption; no final service reductions were adopted at Thursday’s meeting.
