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Milwaukee County Transit System Announces Changes to Bus Service

Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) encourages riders to preview fall bus service as this is MCTS’s largest service update since its system redesign in 2021. The fall service changes will impact 40 of its 46 routes across Milwaukee County and include 95 new bus stop locations and four new routes. Riders can check the Umo app for updated routing and real-time information starting on August 24 or see route previews at RideMCTS.com/Schedules the week of August 11 for more details. These changes start Sunday, August 24, 2025.

Fall service changes are due in part to the MOVE 2025 plan as well as changes to improve the reliability of service on multiple routes. Fall also means the return of UBUS school service. Additionally, several route schedules will be modified due to new long-term road construction. Some routes will experience less frequency due to the MCTS budget shortfall.

MOVE 2025 Improvements
Rider and bus operator feedback helped shape systemwide improvements. The community shared input over the past several months and this input was approved by the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors. The MOVE 2025 plan includes routes with more frequent service, new routes and extensions as well as modifications to existing routes to better serve riders. 

  • More Frequent Service: Route 57, Route 63, and BlueLine 
  • New Routes: Route 59 (Drexel Avenue), Route 73 (Mill Road), Route 74 (S. 43rd Street - Miller Park Way), and Route 82 (S. 13th – Howell Avenue). 
  • Route Extensions/New Connections: Routes 14, 30, 52, 56, and 68. 
  • Route Modifications: Routes 19, 20, 28, 51, 55, 58, BlueLine, RedLine, and PurpleLine. 

To learn more about this project and to view maps and other details, visit RideMCTS.com/MOVE. 

Improving Reliability of Service at UW-Milwaukee Based on Feedback from Bus Drivers and Riders
There are several route changes on the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) campus starting this fall based on rider and bus driver feedback. 

Starting Sunday, August 24, every local route that starts or ends on campus will do so along Kenwood Boulevard between Maryland Avenue and Downer Avenue. In addition, U-Buses will start or end their trips on Downer Avenue and Hampshire Street, just north of Kenwood Boulevard.   

Route 30 (Sherman – Wisconsin): 

  • All Route 30 buses will lay over on Kenwood Boulevard next to the UWM Union. Route 30 buses will no longer operate on Maryland Avenue, Downer Avenue north of Kenwood Boulevard or Edgewood Avenue.  
  • This change will simplify where to board Route 30 on campus and will provide bus drivers with restroom access at the UWM Union. 
  • Buses will come every 10 minutes and will run from 4:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. 
     
  • Maryland Trips 
    • Maryland buses will travel northbound on Maryland Avenue to Locust Street, east on Locust Street to Downer Avenue, north on Downer Avenue to Kenwood Boulevard, and west on Kenwood Boulevard to a new layover stop at Kenwood Boulevard and Farwell Avenue. 
    • After the layover, buses will travel west on Kenwood Boulevard to Maryland Avenue, and south on Maryland Avenue toward North Avenue back to regular routing. 
       
  • Downer Trips 
    • Downer buses will travel as they do today via northbound on Downer Avenue to Kenwood Boulevard, and westbound on Kenwood Boulevard to Kenwood Boulevard and Prospect Avenue.
    • After the layover, buses will travel west on Kenwood Boulevard to Maryland Avenue, south on Maryland Avenue to Locust Street, east on Locust Street to Downer Avenue, and south on Downer Avenue to regular routing. 

Route 40U (College UBUS) 

  • Route 40U will no longer serve the Holt Ave. Park and Ride lot due to its indefinite closure. Buses will stay on I-94 / I-43 between College Avenue and downtown Milwaukee in both directions. It will continue to serve UWM, and MATC’s Downtown and Oak Creek campuses. 
  • The route’s descriptive subtitle will be changed from “Holt-College UBUS” to “College UBUS.”  

Route 44U (Fair Park UBUS Hales Corners UBUS) 

  • Route 44U’s layover will be relocated from Kenwood Boulevard and Maryland Avenue to Downer Avenue and Hampshire Street.  
  • The bus stop at Kenwood Boulevard and Maryland Avenue will still be served by Route 44U buses going to campus only. 
  • Northbound buses will follow the same clockwise loop through campus via Kenwood Boulevard, Oakland Avenue, Hartford Avenue and Downer Avenue. 
  • After the layover, southbound buses will not loop back around campus and will travel east on Kenwood Boulevard to regular routing. Riders can either board the bus at one of the stops along the northbound loop and wait through the layover or walk to the new layover at Downer and Hampshire Avenue and board the bus before it leaves campus. 

Route 49U (Brown Deer UBUS) 

  • Route 49U will be eliminated due to low ridership. The route number will be retired. 
  • Bus service from the Brown Deer Park and Ride Lot to UWM will still be available for passengers via Route 68, which will be extended to serve UWM with the start of the school year. 

Routes 21, 22 and 66 

  • Route 21 and Route 66 service to UWM will return with the start of the new school year.  
  • Routes 21, 22 and 66 buses will start or end their trips at Kenwood Boulevard and Stowell Avenue like today. 


Routes With Detours in Fall 2025
The following routes will be on long-term detours continuing through or ending in the fall. Project timelines are subject to change on short notice. Please visit RideMCTS.com/Alerts for the latest detoured routing updates. 

  • GreenLine, Route 15 and Route 18 will detour off Water Street near the Third Ward due to construction on the Water Street Bridge. The detour will be in both directions and last until late fall 2025. All trip times will be shifted to accommodate the added detour time. 
  • Route 31 will continue to detour off State Street between 50th Street and 35th Street eastbound only due to construction. Eastbound trip times will be shifted to accommodate the added detour time. 
  • Route 76’s detour off 68th Street between Bluemound Road and State Street will end and the route will return to its regular route. 
  • Route 80 & GreenLine will not serve the Cell Phone Lot bus stop due to long-term construction of the E Concourse. During construction, Route 80 and GreenLine will serve the following bus stops respectively. 
    • GreenLine will begin or end its trip at the current Baggage Claim bus stop. This stop is currently served by both the GreenLine and Route 80 but will not be served by Route 80 at the start of construction. 
    • Route 80 will serve a new temporary bus stop located on the northern end of Departures. 
  • Route 92 will continue to detour off 92nd Street between Burleigh Street and Capitol Drive in both directions due to construction on Lisbon Avenue. All trip times will be shifted to accommodate the added detour time. 

 
Frequency Reductions due to Budget Shortfall  
Starting in fall, non-peak service levels on the following routes will change as listed below: 

  • Route 12 – On weekdays, riders will wait 5 minutes longer from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. (approximately 20 minutes versus 15 minutes).  
    • On Saturdays, riders will wait 5 minutes longer from 6 a.m. - 6 p.m. (approximately 25 minutes versus 20 minutes). 
  • Route 15 – On weekdays, riders will wait 5 minutes longer from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. (approximately 20 minutes versus 15 minutes).  
  • Route 18 – On weekdays, riders will wait 5 minutes longer from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. (approximately 22 minutes versus 15 minutes). 
  • Route 19 – On weekdays, riders will wait 8 minutes longer from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. (approximately 23 minutes versus 15 minutes). 
  • Route 21 – On weekdays, riders will wait 8 minutes longer from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. (approximately 23 minutes versus 15 minutes). 
    • On Saturdays, riders will wait 5 minutes longer from 6 a.m. - 6 p.m.   (approximately 25 minutes versus 20 minutes). 
  • Route 22 – On Saturdays, riders will wait 8 minutes longer from 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. (approximately 34 minutes versus 26 minutes). 
  • Route 24 – On Saturdays, riders will wait 6 minutes longer from 6 a.m. - 6 p.m. (approximately 31 minutes versus 25 minutes). 
  • Route 35 – On weekdays, riders will wait 5 minutes longer from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. (approximately 20 minutes versus 15 minutes). 
  • Route 51 – On Saturdays, riders will wait 8 minutes longer from 6 a.m. - 6 p.m. (approximately 28 minutes versus 20 minutes). 
  • Route 57 – On Saturdays, riders will wait 8 minutes longer from 6 a.m. - 6 p.m. (approximately 36 minutes versus 28 minutes). 
  • Route 60 – On Saturdays, riders will wait 5 minutes longer from 6 a.m. - 6 p.m. (approximately 29 minutes versus 24 minutes). 
  • Route 66 – On weekdays, riders will wait 10 minutes longer from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. (approximately 25 minutes versus 15 minutes). 
  • Route 76 – On weekdays, riders will wait 8 minutes longer from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. (approximately 23 minutes versus 15 minutes). 
    • On Saturdays, riders will wait 5 minutes longer from 6 a.m. - 6 p.m. (approximately 33 minutes versus 28 minutes). 
  • Route 80 – On weekdays, riders will wait 5 minutes longer from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. (approximately 20 minutes versus 15 minutes). 
  • Route 92 – On Saturdays, riders will wait 13 minutes longer from 6 a.m. - 6 p.m. (approximately 53 minutes versus 40 minutes). 
  • BlueLine – On weekdays, riders will wait 7 minutes longer from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. (approximately 22 minutes versus 15 minutes). 
    • Riders north of Hampton Avenue will have more frequent service than today (approximately 15 minutes in the a.m./p.m. and every 22 min during midday vs 30 minutes). 
  • RedLine – On weekdays, riders will wait 3 minutes longer from 6 a.m. - 6 p.m. (approximately 15 minutes versus 12 minutes).

 For more information, visit RideMCTS.com/ServiceChanges.