MCTS announces adjusted bus routes, paratransit disruptions during the RNC

After major disruptions to public transportation in Milwaukee's downtown due to the Republican National Convention, Milwaukee County Transit System announced multiple-route detours for bus and and service disruptions for paratransit riders next week.

The RNC, which is set to start July 15 and end July 18, is at the center of the U.S. Secret Service's recently released security measures that aims at upping safety at the convention and for residents and visitors in and around the area.

The detours will be in place throughout the entirety of the convention and service is expected to return to normal once fencing is taken down and street closures come to an end on July 19.

Milwaukee's main transit agency told riders to expect delays and to allow extra travel time as service changes could be implemented last minute.

“While we’re ready for this worldwide event, we ask everyone to allow more time in your travel plans and know that security measures could change service on short notice,” MCTS President Denise Wandke said in a statement Monday.

MCTS said that detours for fourteen transit routes could start as early as July 11, when security begins to set-up fencing around the hard perimeter, also known as the area that is controlled by the Secret Service, which will include access to Fiserv Forum, the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena and the Baird Center. These three main spaces are where the RNC will take place and will require credentials to enter.

Detours expected July 11 to July 19

MCTS said some of the routes facing detours serve Milwaukee's main transit corridors, including the East-West Bus Rapid Transit CONNECT 1.

Here are the lines facing changes next week:

• CONNECT 1, and Routes 18, 30, 31, 33, 34, and 57 will be affected both East and Westbound.
• BlueLine, GreenLine, and Routes 12, 15, 19, 80, 81 will be affected both North and Southbound.

The agency also shared that there will be disruptions to the County's paratransit service, Transit Plus, for riders with disabilities.

Paratransit vans will only enter the RNC’s Vehicle Screening perimeter or "soft-perimeter" for scheduled drop offs, which stretches from West McKinley Avenue on the north to just past West Wisconsin Avenue to the south. This area will encompass Pere Marquette Park on the east side and stretches past North Lovell Street on the west.

“We’re ready and prepared. This is a great opportunity to show all that Milwaukee County has to offer and we are excited to give our awesome bus operators and public transit a chance to shine. But we want our riders to know that for safety reasons, it will take extra time to get to where you want to go,” Wandke said.

To find more detailed information, visit ridemcts.com/routes-schedules/rnc-milwaukee-2024.

Contact Vanessa Swales at 414-308-5881 or vswales@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @Vanessa_Swales.