On Monday, transit workers stood shoulder to shoulder with their passengers and elected officials as they marched a mile down Wisconsin Avenue under a gloomy sky to the steps of the Milwaukee County Courthouse. Their demand: improved security on the Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) buses.
Michael Brown, Vice President of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 998 put it succinctly: “our agenda is safety and security, not only for the bus operators, but for the passengers as well.”
As part of their demand that the County adequately fund MCTS, the union is calling for the creation of a Transit Ranger program, in which County employees would be empowered to write citations, and connect riders who need housing and mental health services with county resources. Currently, security for MCTS is provided by a private company, Allied Security Services, which does not coordinate with the county’s housing or mental health services. While the program would not be a new expense, and is estimated to cost less than the current contract with Allied Security, its supporters argue that it is better suited to solve security issues currently arising on MCTS buses.
The Transit Ranger proposal was on the agenda Monday at a meeting of the MCTS Safety and Security Task Force, co-chaired by County Supervisors Ryan Clancy and Peter Burgelis.
Clancy was in attendance Monday, along with Supervisors Juan Miguel Martinez and Steven Shea, as well as State Senator Chris Larson.
“I did a lot of ride-alongs on MCTS, talking to operators and talking to passengers,” Clancy said. What he discovered on those rides, and what was later confirmed in data presented to the Task Force, was that “during the winter months, over 60% of the security calls were either for someone sleeping, or somebody riding too long past the end of the line, which suggests that we’re dealing with a lack of housing or a lack of shelter, rather than violent incidents.”
“We don’t need someone with a badge and a gun to respond to that,” Clancy said, citing an alternative that had been floated during the Task Force meetings for the County Sheriff to take over MCTS security services, which would cost nearly 7 times as much as the proposed Ranger program. “We need our folks nested in the county who can tap into an existing county resources to provide people with housing and shelter, things like that,” said Clancy, noting that in previous budgets successfully pushed for the expansion of a similar “ranger” style program in the Milwaukee County Parks System.
Ron Jansen, a community activist who recently declared his candidacy for a County Board seat, attended both the rally and the Task Force meeting on Monday. Jansen counts himself as a supporter of the Transit Ranger proposal. “What this Task Force has come up with is really a document of hope,” Jansen said, “I think it lays out a plan that increases safety for the drivers, increases safety for riders, and improves outcomes for people interacting with the Rangers as well. I think that’s a big positive.”
Calls for a Ranger program have emerged in a climate of fiscal austerity. Just a few weeks ago, MCTS officials projected that as many as half of the County’s 36 bus routes could be cut if the County cannot close its budget deficit, which could reach more than $40 million annually by 2028. It is not yet clear whether the County’s marginal increase state shared revenue, even if combined with a proposed 0.4% increase in the county sales tax would be adequate to close that gap, especially given the numerous strings contained in the legislation, which Gov. Tony Evers recently signed into law.
Looming cuts were also on the minds of the rally’s attendees. “We’re desperate right now,” said Kyle Handel, a mechanic with MCTS and an executive board member at ATU Local 998, “We’re already struggling to survive. We cannot hire mechanics. We’re struggling to keep bus drivers. We need these buses on the road so people can get to work, the store, or their doctor’s appointment.”
For Rev. Greg Lewis, Executive Director of Souls to the Polls Wisconsin, securing adequate transit funding under these conditions will require collective action. “We have to fight vigorously. We have to be aggressive,” Lewis said during the rally on Monday, “We can’t keep waiting for somebody to ride in on a white horse to save us. We have to band together and save ourselves.”
