MILWAUKEE – A new study by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) shows that the proposed 2012 budget cuts to the Milwaukee County Transit System would result in the loss of bus service to 997 employers, affecting thousands of employees at those companies.
The study, conducted by the UWM Center for Economic Development, found that, at a minimum, 13,553 jobs in locations currently served by the transit system would become inaccessible by transit if the budget cuts are approved.
“It has become a familiar story for MCTS, which has been forced to reduce service, raise fares, or both every year since 2001 to close chronic budget gaps,” says Joel Rast, director of the center.
“Unlike most major urban transit systems, MCTS is funded through local property taxes, which places transit in competition with various other county-run services for its share of tax revenues. Without a permanent local revenue source dedicated specifically for transit, it has been all but impossible for MCTS to generate sufficient revenues to keep pace with growing operating costs.”
Read the entire study at http://www.uwm.edu/ced/publications/transitjobs_2011update.pdf.
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(CONTACT: Joel Rast, jrast@uwm.edu, 414-229-6155.)
