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Waukesha bus will still run
Route to UWM will kept through spring
By Ciara Pares
According to UWM Director of University Architecture and Planning and Transportation Services Claude Schuttey, the UPASS was only ever intended for use in Milwaukee County.
Bus lines running from Waukesha to UW-Milwaukee were in danger of being cancelled completely, but received a reprieve in the Waukesha County Board meeting Nov. 12. The bus line connecting Waukesha County to UWM will remain through the spring semester, despite funding for the connection being cut from the Waukesha County 2009 budget, according to County Executive Dan Vrakas.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin Coach Lines and Vrakas determined in a meeting Tuesday that increased fares, along with state aid, should pay for the service until additional sources of funds can be found.
UWM originally partially funded the route through the UPASS system, but that funding was cut last year. Since April, students commuting from Waukesha County have had to pay $3.50 round trip to ride the bus. This rate is expected to rise $0.50 in 2009.
According to UWM Director of University Architecture and Planning and Transportation Services Claude Schuttey, the UPASS was only ever intended for use in Milwaukee County. He said the ridership from Waukesha County was light, and running a bus line from there to the campus was not cost effective.
If the Waukesha County to UWM route was cancelled, students commuting from the suburbs could expect to ride the Waukesha County line to downtown, then transfer to a Milwaukee County Transit System bus for the ride to UWM. There would be no additional fee for the transfer.
Approximately 265,000 fares are expected to be sold on the route to downtown this year. The student ridership of the Waukesha County connection route isn’t immediately known, because the UPASS does not require a separate fare.
Vrakas asked Wisconsin Coach Lines to determine the number of people using the UWM connection. Currently, Waukesha Coach Lines makes 42 trips to and from campus on weekdays.
A public hearing on bus route eliminations and fare increases is set for 8:30 a.m. Nov. 20 at the Waukesha County Courthouse. Students are encouraged to attend.
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