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MCTS: Service Disruptions and Uncertain future


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Offical Press Release from Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele, the new express routes have been approved for 2012 with the County recieving all the grants that it requested. Listed in this reply is the official press release form Chris Abele's office.

Well now you know.:lol: Heck, he didn't thank Ray LaHood.

Maybe the more interesting thing is that it says it uses funding from the defunct KRM rail project. So, I guess that's that for that new start.

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Well now you know.:lol: Heck, he didn't thank Ray LaHood.

Maybe the more interesting thing is that it says it uses funding from the defunct KRM rail project. So, I guess that's that for that new start.

Yes, you are correct, with out those funds, we would be in a tragic state in January

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Yes, you are correct, with out those funds, we would be in a tragic state in January

As I said, I was more interested in the defunct KRM rail. From what I was able to find on the Internet, it was "your favorite governor";) Walker who killed it, making the funds available to the three counties' bus systems. Is that the case?

At least is it different from Illinois, where no one can prioritize anything, and bemoan that there are always $8 billion in unmet capital needs and no money for any of them.

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As I said, I was more interested in the defunct KRM rail. From what I was able to find on the Internet, it was "your favorite governor"wink.gif Walker who killed it, making the funds available to the three counties' bus systems. Is that the case?

At least is it different from Illinois, where no one can prioritize anything, and bemoan that there are always $8 billion in unmet capital needs and no money for any of them.

You are correct and my "favorite governor" provided those funds

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Also, please note i am creating a lil MCTS 2012 Budget bookelet containing all the material posted and some which i have created which i will have a link to in January 2012, i want all the documents to be put together so that when this does come out, it will be a collectors item for the ages.

laugh.gif

1.TRANSIT FUTURE (THE BUDGET CRISIS) COVER.pdf

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  • 2 weeks later...

I found some gold mines while searching on the net, timetables for the Three Routes eliminated: Route 39 (Timmerman Flyer), 45 (Watertown Plank Flyer), and 47 (S. 27th St. Flyer).. Plus does anybody have the following timetables for the following routes with the Effective date January 3rd, 2011 Those routes are 10, 11, 12, 14, 31, 33, 35, 51, 53, 54, 57, 67 and 80.

39-45-46-47-flyer-announce-12-101.pdf

39.pdf

45.pdf

47.pdf

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have created a chart giving detailed information about the proposed 2012 transit changes (Trust me it took a LONG TIME TO CREATE). I am also working on a Route 90 (Miller Park) brochure which MCTS has never really created (I hope they get a copy and contact me to use it) and CTA Rail brochure giving detailed information about CTA's rail service (You'll be surprised how offical it looks) plus im still working on the MCTS 2012 Proposed Transit Booklet which will be out in February 2012.

PROPOSED ROUTE CHANGES 2012 LIST (REVISED DRAFTED EDITION WITH CREDITS).pdf

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well, it's all set, for the most part. Routes 11 and 18 gone, but other routes will exist to cover that. However, the big news is... the metroEXpress routes (I really hate that name. Metro Express sounds so much better.) will start running January 29th!

All the information is right here: http://ridemcts.com/...System-Changes/

To summarize, though...

Routes 18 and 11 are being eliminated, while the Green Line (Bayshore-Airport Express) is taking over for the current 15, and a re-aligned 15 will take over the the bayshore-to-Capitol Dr section of the 68. It'll head east where it'll take over for the route 11 from Capitol Dr. to 1st street, where it meets with the Green Line, the 56 (Going from KK to 124th and Greenfield and also incorporating the branch of the 11 from 1st Street to Burham St), and the 52 (which takes over the 15th Avenue branch of the 15). At this point, the 15th continues its normal route, and the Green Line takes over the remainder of the route 11 and also goes to Mitchell International through baggage, where the 80 would normally stop.

The Red Line is just the current route 62, which has been shortened to run between 76th and Capitol and Humboldt. The Red will then continue on to UWM to lay over.

The Blue Line will take over the Park Place branch of the 23, linking up with the regular 23 at 76th and Congress, continuing as it does normally downtown, but it'll head down 2nd st. instead of going to the transit center, and take a right onto National to continue with the regular 23 out to 70th and Greenfield.

In addition, the 68 is being removed, and will be carried by the 63, stopping at Bayshore and then continuing the old 68 route up to Glencoe.

All in all, Abele did a DAMN good job of minimizing service cuts with the budget he'd been given. Personally, I hope the express routes catch on... maybe we can restart the Metrolink Route 3 from Brookfield Sq. to Downtown. I don't know about you, but the 10 is always packed to the gills. Maybe have the local line layover at 124th and Bluemound (since there's a turnaround there anyway,) allow the express to keep going to Brookfield Square. When they come back, the (for lack of better color) Brown Express skips the Medical center (westbound, as well), saving a bit more time.

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Well, it's all set, for the most part. Routes 11 and 18 gone, but other routes will exist to cover that. However, the big news is... the metroEXpress routes (I really hate that name. Metro Express sounds so much better.) will start running January 29th!

All the information is right here: http://ridemcts.com/...System-Changes/

To summarize, though...

Routes 18 and 11 are being eliminated, while the Green Line (Bayshore-Airport Express) is taking over for the current 15, and a re-aligned 15 will take over the the bayshore-to-Capitol Dr section of the 68. It'll head east where it'll take over for the route 11 from Capitol Dr. to 1st street, where it meets with the Green Line, the 56 (Going from KK to 124th and Greenfield and also incorporating the branch of the 11 from 1st Street to Burham St), and the 52 (which takes over the 15th Avenue branch of the 15). At this point, the 15th continues its normal route, and the Green Line takes over the remainder of the route 11 and also goes to Mitchell International through baggage, where the 80 would normally stop.

The Red Line is just the current route 62, which has been shortened to run between 76th and Capitol and Humboldt. The Red will then continue on to UWM to lay over.

The Blue Line will take over the Park Place branch of the 23, linking up with the regular 23 at 76th and Congress, continuing as it does normally downtown, but it'll head down 2nd st. instead of going to the transit center, and take a right onto National to continue with the regular 23 out to 70th and Greenfield.

In addition, the 68 is being removed, and will be carried by the 63, stopping at Bayshore and then continuing the old 68 route up to Glencoe.

All in all, Abele did a DAMN good job of minimizing service cuts with the budget he'd been given. Personally, I hope the express routes catch on... maybe we can restart the Metrolink Route 3 from Brookfield Sq. to Downtown. I don't know about you, but the 10 is always packed to the gills. Maybe have the local line layover at 124th and Bluemound (since there's a turnaround there anyway,) allow the express to keep going to Brookfield Square. When they come back, the (for lack of better color) Brown Express skips the Medical center (westbound, as well), saving a bit more time.

Thank you for posting this, i do have all the documents and they will be downloaded by December 4th 2011 on this post. I personally think the Metrolink monkier should have returned instead of this MetroEXpress, which looks ugly, lets hope an offical logo will make this look more attractive. Yes Abele did do a DAMN EXCELLENT job of saving transit, but this is only a 2 year fix, if you saw the maps posted before, he was ready to do damage control, so basically, its the same level of service with the Grant-assisted Express routes (It's BOUT TIME because those Freeway Flyers don't count as Express) and a little work here and there to improve service (IT's bout time they realized that just because you through route a route to downtown doesnt always make it an attractive opition when branches of certian routes can be through routes, yes im talking bout the 11 (Greenfield Branch) and Route 18. So please stay tuned and i will try to download the special edition of buslines in January

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Ok here is the information that i have downloaded and the documents that i have created with credits. I hope to hear your comments and concerns. You may inbox me on here, contact me at facebook.com/corey.k.ellison, or at me email at currentz09@gmail.com. My creation of the Route 90 (Miller Park) Brochure is listed and my creation of the 2012 MCTS route changes are listed with detailed information about service changes. My CTA Rail Map brochure is just about finshed (i hope to debut it by christmas) and im wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday season ahead. P.S. would anybody like me to create a CTA Holiday Train Brochure, please comment. Please Note: the MCTS OFFICAL ROUTE CHANGES 2012 LIST (MODIFIED DECEMBER 6TH 2011) was recently revised, so if you downloaded a version of the previous one, please disregard that and download the on posted below with the heading MCTS OFFICAL ROUTE CHANGES 2012 LIST (MODIFIED DECEMBER 6TH 2011).

MCTS JANUARY 29 2012 CHANGES FAQ (REVISIED DECEMBER 2, 2011).pdf

ROUTE 90 MILLER PARK BROCHURE (DRAFT VERSION WITH CREDITS).pdf

MCTS MetroEXpress (RedEXpress--CAPITOL DRIVE).pdf

MCTS MetroEXpress (GreenEXpress--BAYSHORE-AIRPORT).pdf

MCTS MetroEXpress (BlueEXpress--FOND DU LAC-NATIONAL).pdf

MCTS OFFICAL ROUTE CHANGES 2012 LIST (MODIFIED DECEMBER 6TH 2011).pdf

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  • 3 weeks later...

136 more buses!

I'll make this quick and dirty, but the county is going to be using the rest of the federal transit aid that's sat, long-idle since 1991 to purchase 136 new buses. I'm assuming they're staying with the D40LFR clean diesels, but obviously I can't be sure. Don't see why they'd go with someone other than New Flyer.

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I'm assuming once this new order is complete all of the 4300's and half of the 4400's will be retired. Personally I think the 4500's are pretty beat down from drag racing on Highway 100 on the Route 28 and could probably go to

Well, the 4300s will definitely be gone, mostly, by March when 55 of the new buses get here. Honestly, the 4400s aren't really that bad off, BUT I know they're getting close to 12 years, so I can see them gone by the end of '12.

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Well, the 4300s will definitely be gone, mostly, by March when 55 of the new buses get here. Honestly, the 4400s aren't really that bad off, BUT I know they're getting close to 12 years, so I can see them gone by the end of '12.

I totally agree. Those 4300-series got the worst treatment as they aged (Hell, even the retired 4000-4100 series was in better shape when they retired, when i saw 4080 on the 23 (Fond du Lac Avenue), it looked like it could have did another 5 years), they began to fall apart and they sounded horrible, but don't blame on MCTS, blame that on limited funding. The 4400-series is in excellent shape, they look great, sound great and the engine choice (including the 4600, 4700, 4800, 4900, 5000) was the correct choice for the fleet. It will be sad to once again see a part of Milwaukee history disappear again (the 4300-series introducted the now phased out color scheme of blue, gold and green in 2000), but can't wait to see what the 5300 & 5400-series will bring. will they be game changers or just a vast improvement of the retired fleet. That we shall see

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but can't wait to see what the 5300 & 5400-series will bring. will they be game changers or just a vast improvement of the retired fleet.

I'll take either, to be frank. This summer they apparently will be upgrading the fareboxes to accept magnetic and RFID media (they already have the contact sort-of set with GFI, makers of the current fareboxes), and bus tracking should be around the corner after that. Maybe the new buses will introduce stop annunciators like we used to have when TransitTV was still around? I miss hearing the "Route 10... Bluemound Brookfield Square" as the door opened for me to board...

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I'll take either, to be frank. This summer they apparently will be upgrading the fareboxes to accept magnetic and RFID media (they already have the contact sort-of set with GFI, makers of the current fareboxes), and bus tracking should be around the corner after that. Maybe the new buses will introduce stop annunciators like we used to have when TransitTV was still around? I miss hearing the "Route 10... Bluemound Brookfield Square" as the door opened for me to board...

All i hope is that 2012 is the new beginning for the Milwaukee County Transit System. With the new express routes and the reprive of transit issues brought by Chris Abele, lets hope these changes bring back riders. I can't wait until January 2012 and all the new transit material that going to come out, i believe 2012 will be a successful year for MCTS. I also think MCTS should go to a audio system that the CTA uses for its buses, i miss those too and MCTS should know by now stop announciators are ADA compliant

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  • 2 weeks later...

Here is the special edition of Buslines explaining all the 2012 service changes that will take in effect Sunday January 29th, 2012. Please read the information carefully. For a printed copy of this edition of Buslines, please contact MCTS at mmarketing@mcts.org or you may write to them at

Milwaukee County Transit System

Attn: Marketing Department

1942 N. 17th Street

Milwaukee, WI 53205

Please as an important reminder, my transit booklet detailing the process of creating the MCTS 2012 Transit Budget will be debuting February 2012, so please check this post for updates.

BUSLINES SPECIAL EDITION MCTS 2012 SERVICE CHANGES.pdf

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If only that map didn't confuse metroGreen with the Freeway Flyers, I'd say the map would be damn near flawless.

Yes, that happened with the Metrolink Express buses when they were in service from 1991 until 2002, but you'll get used to it. I like this map because of the way they make the express routes standout from the regular routes. My only hope is that they catch that Route 10 color,it's blue going north and red going west (i prefer the blue) and changing Route 27 from orange to a new netural color so it doesnt clash with the realigned Route 23, but i think this one is going to be a classic for years to come

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I may be crazy (okay, definitely am, but that's beside the point!), but I like the logos for the individual MetroEXpress lines. Kind of a 50s retro styling, almost like some of the old CTA signage.

YESSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!. I actually hated the name MetroEXpress, but now that the Official Logos are out, it actually makes them more Attractive and gives them an idenity. MCTS has pulled this one out of peoples eyes and can't wait to see the cover of the 2012 Transit Guide, Will they uses the MetroEXpress Logo to promote the Express routes? I also want to see the Timetables (out by January 12th, 2012) for the new MetroEXpress, how will they market these to becoming attractive routes on their own. I also have a little quiz for you guys, i posted the 2012 Transit Map and their were a couple of errors. I'm going to post a revised version of this map and see what errors were improved and which one is still there? Good Luck and Thank you to everyone that has continued to voice their opinion and download all the PDF's i've posted on this fourm. This has truly been an outlet for me to provide other Transit supporters the chance to see Milwaukee's Transit System from the Inside out. (P.S. Rumor Mill: a bus operator was talking about the operations of the MetroEXpress BlueLine and said that some BlueLine Trips will only operate along Wisconsin Ave between 2nd and 17th (making the old 18 2nd and Wells terminal still in use) along 16th/17th between Wisconsin Ave and Fond Lac Ave and Fond Du Lac Ave (between 17th and 60th/Congress) via Mill Rd Branch) and not serving the entire National Branch along 2nd-Wisconsin, National-Greenfield to 70th and Greenfield and said that the terminal for the realigned Route 23 (Fond Du Lac-National) and MetroEXpress BlueLine would be at 68th and Greenfield.........Now these are just what the operator has said and they are A VERY RESOURCEFUL SOURCE) and they are from the KinnicKinnic Station)

MCTS 2012 TRANSIT GUIDE MAP REVISED.pdf

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Back during the time when the huge cuts were looming, there was the idea of routing the 21 to UWM via Downer year-round, and making the 30 to UWM via Maryland only. I kind of wished they'd do that, since it would eliminate a tiny bit of confusion between the two branches. Plus, I live off the 21 and have friends that live near Downer and Locust, so it would be self-serving for me. ;)

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Back during the time when the huge cuts were looming, there was the idea of routing the 21 to UWM via Downer year-round, and making the 30 to UWM via Maryland only. I kind of wished they'd do that, since it would eliminate a tiny bit of confusion between the two branches. Plus, I live off the 21 and have friends that live near Downer and Locust, so it would be self-serving for me. ;)

Yes, have the 21 run down Downer instead of spliting the 30 is such a better idea, which i think MCTS already knows (Like they finally just realized that extended the Howell branch to the airport Duh) so it might take them a slow minute to realize that and instead of giving the 21 semster only service to UWM is dumb and having to wait and transfer at Farwell/North for either a 30 UWM via Maryland or 30 UWM via Downer (Finally they realized the terminal and branch that serves that end of the 30) why note through route the 21 to UWM year round

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