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Regional Transportation Coordination Through System Integration and Consolidation

The problems inherent in actually coordinating neighboring transit systems, when there is no regional transit authority, often derail the process before any meaningful progress is made. Political boundaries, management differences, regional competition for scarce funding, and an overall level of initial distrust between parties all stand in the way. A golden opportunity does occasionally present itself, though. With the right vision, timing, and a little luck, that opportunity can be turned into a big success. Located in the Milwaukee metropolitan area, Waukesha County is one of the fastest growing suburban areas in the country. There were two transit systems in Waukesha County --the Waukesha Metro Transit system in the City of Waukesha and a system of commuter routes privately run under contract to the County. Although both systems connect with Milwaukee County Transit System routes, the coordination between all the systems was lacking. In 2002, Waukesha County created an opportunity for regional coordination by announcing that it would no longer oversee its transit system and would instead contract for administration of the system. Waukesha Metro submitted the winning proposal and assumed control in March 2003. Since then, Waukesha Metro has made many changes that have improved system coordination. Route and schedule adjustments to better connect systems, streamlined and seamless fare structures, cost cutting that still maintained service levels, increased marketing efforts and better channels of customer communication have all helped create a better regional transit network. There were also growing pains associated with doubling the amount of service delivered by Waukesha Metro. Some staff resistance to the integration, procurement disputes, complicated accounting and funding issues, and inherited compliance issues had to be resolved. There is still work to be done, but the consolidation of control over transit in Waukesha County has proved that different governmental bodies can cooperate and deliver better regional transportation options.

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Media Type: Print
  • Pagination: 4p
  • Monograph Title: 2005 Bus & Paratransit Conference

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01001913
  • Record Type: Publication
  • ISBN: 1931594163
  • Files: TRIS
  • Created Date: Jul 14 2005 10:12AM