Milwaukee County could receive $26 million to help replace buses as part of Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed 2017-2019 budget. The money from the state would come from the nearly $64 million 2016 settlement with Volkswagen. More than 100 buses in Milwaukee are eligible to be replaced as a part of the settlement.
Replacing buses is crucial in order to continue to meet demand, Milwaukee County Transit System Spokesman Brendan Conway said.
“It’s not so much about adding buses, and that’s going to add service because we have enough buses to do current service,” Conway said. “But it would be more the inverse. If we didn’t have enough buses, then we couldn’t provide the daily service.”
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Unlike a person’s car, the buses don’t get breaks, he said
“Our buses travel every year, across the entire fleet, 18 million miles,” Conway said. “We’re giving 150,000 rides a day to people getting to work, going to school, medical appointments, and we’re driving all across the community.”
County officials said each bus costs about $500,000, and they would be able to supply at least 56 new buses with the money from the state.
A report last year from the Public Policy Forum found 106 of the county’s 412 buses needed to be replaced.
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