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East-West Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is Milwaukee County’s planned 9-mile, regional, modern transit service connecting major employment, education and recreation destinations through downtown Milwaukee, Milwaukee’s Near West Side, Marquette University, Wauwatosa and the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center. BRT would provide improved access to the region’s most vital, most traveled and most congested corridor.
About East-West BRT
WHY BRT?
- BRT plays a vital role in a healthy, multimodal transportation system that connects people to jobs, and businesses to their customers.
- BRT is cost-effective, efficient and has been proven to increase transit use with improved service frequencies, travel time and reliability.
- BRT supports and sparks millions of dollars in economic development.
- BRT meets a critical need to mitigate traffic congestion during the multi-year reconstruction of I-94.
Regional Connectivity
BRT is a key part of the regional transportation plan, building on existing Milwaukee County Transit System routes and providing opportunities to spur the development of and connection to additional rapid transit corridors in the region.
Who Will Use BRT?
The East-West BRT is to average more than 9,500 weekday riders by 2035 and increase overall transit ridership in the corridor by 17 percent. Ridership will be fueled by activity generators within the half-mile station area around the preferred route including ...
East-West BRT Project Phases
Key 2017 East-West BRT Project Decisions
In 2016, Milwaukee County completed a feasibility study and identified a preliminary preferred BRT route. In 2017, Milwaukee County is advancing the project through the initial engineering and development phases and refined the preferred route based on three key decisions with public and local community input:
- Lane configuration: Where dedicated lanes will be located and whether they run along the center lane, along the median, the outside lane or curbside.
- Station locations: Final locations of stations along the route, including placement in the median or road side.
- Station design: The appropriate size and design of each station for its neighborhood – from urban stations to smaller neighborhood stops.
How is BRT Funded?
The BRT capital cost is estimated at $53.5 million. The financial plan for the project anticipates the capital cost may be funded up to 80 percent through the federal Small Starts program, which requires a minimum local match of 20 percent. The Small Starts application was submitted to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) in early September 2017. With systemwide MCTS operating improvements, the new BRT service will only add about 1 percent to MCTS’s overall operating and maintenance costs. Operations will be funded as part of the existing MCTS service, which comes from bus fares, advertising and sponsorships, state and federal funding, and local tax levy.
East-West BRT Project Features
Up to 19 stations connect regional network of major employment centers, education facilities and recreational destinations
Modern, hybrid electric buses provide a quiet, comfortable, sustainable vehicle with features for easy boarding and interior bike storage
Reliable and predictable travel times through the use of dedicated lanes (50% of the corridor length), fewer stops, traffic signal priority and pre-board ticketing
Reduces traffic congestion
by attracting
more transit riders and removing thousands of cars from the corridor
More frequent daily service with buses every 10 minutes during peak hours and midday, and every 20-30 minutes in early morning, evening and late night