MCTS delays plan to start charging riders of Connect BRT

The Milwaukee County Transit System is delaying its plan to start charging passengers next week to ride the Connect Bus Rapid Transit due to icy weather conditions, MCTS announced Wednesday.

Instead, passengers will start paying to ride the CONNECT 1 on Monday, April 15, said spokesperson Anna Schryver.

The CONNECT 1 launched June 4. Rides have been free since then. Due to supply chain issues, the pre-board fare equipment was not ready for install as planned last fall.

The pre-board fare equipment lets riders pay at the platform before boarding the bus. At the platform validators, riders can scan their WisGo card, Umo mobile app or ticket before boarding the CONNECT 1.

Each of the CONNECT line’s 32 stations will have a payment validator located on the platform.

Riders will need to scan their WisGo card or Umo App at the validators before boarding the bus. Cash and credit card users must purchase a ticket at the machine at the station and scan their ticket before boarding the bus.

After riders prepay and validate their ticket, they can board the bus at any door. WisGo card, Umo app and printed tickets include a 90-minute transfer with your ride.

The CONNECT 1 spans from Milwaukee’s downtown to the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center in Wauwatosa along Wisconsin Avenue and Blue Mound Road. The bus operates from 4:30 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. During the day on weekdays, buses will arrive every 10 minutes, and every 15 minutes on weekends. Evening buses are scheduled to arrive every 20 to 30 minutes.

For more information about tickets and boarding the CONNECT 1, you can visit MCTS’s website at RidMCTS.com/Prepay.