Waukesha Transit Commission advances proposed route cuts including 16% reduction on Route 1

The Waukesha Transit Commission voted Thursday to send proposed service reductions and schedule changes to the next review step, a measure staff described as a cost-saving response to partner funding pressures and low ridership on several routes.

Staff summarized the package as including roughly a 16% reduction in Route 1’s total service hours, reducing weekday service from five buses to four and cutting Saturday service from four buses to three. Staff said weekday frequencies would be modestly reduced (examples included 4–8 minute longer waits in some windows) and Metro Lift service hours would be adjusted to align with Route 1’s new schedule. Route 6 — identified by staff as the system’s lowest-performing route — would lose some late weekday and Sunday trips; Route 5 would have limited Sunday trip reductions, and Route 9 would lose the final Saturday trip. On Route 15, staff proposed returning a 45-minute schedule to an hourly schedule because construction on the East Bypass has made on-time performance difficult.

Commissioners pressed staff on whether reductions would interfere with shift workers. Commissioner Kevin Riley, who said he has health-care experience, asked whether the 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. trips are timed to shift changes; staff replied that those specific runs typically show very low ridership (for example, a 5:15 a.m. run sometimes carried only three riders) and that Milwaukee County in particular requested the changes to find cost savings.

Staff said Milwaukee and Waukesha counties together fund more than 70% of Route 1 and are under fiscal constraints, and that the recommendation seeks to reduce costs while maintaining a base level of service. “This route has over 700 rides per day per weekday,” staff said, noting that the changes would affect a relatively small number of riders but produce meaningful budget savings.

The motion to accept the proposed changes for review, moved by Commissioner Kevin Riley and seconded, carried on a voice vote. No members of the public spoke during the formal hearing; staff noted there were mailed submissions.

Next steps: the package will return for formal action after review and any additional input. The commission did not adopt final service reductions at Thursday’s meeting; it approved advancing the proposal for further consideration.