Editor's Note: The audio version of this story said that Milwaukee County is the only county in the state that provides same-day on-demand paratransit. Dane County has its own service.
After ending suddenly last year, Milwaukee County Transit System, or MCTS, is once-again offering same-day, on-demand paratransit for people with disabilities.
The program, officially named Transit Plus Same Day Pilot, allows qualifying individuals to reserve up to 8 rides per month at $10 per ride. The program is designed for people with disabilities to get rides to last-minute medical or employment appointments.
The program is offered in addition to MCTS' other paratransit service, which need to be scheduled at least 24 hours in advance.
A similar program was abruptly cut in 2023 after it was found to be in violation of federal regulations mandating that government-provided paratransit vehicles be wheelchair-accessible and drivers be randomly drug tested. Milwaukee County canceled the service because it would be too costly to update the program to meet these federal standards.
Now, a similar service is offered with a few changes. The number of rides per month is capped, and riders will pay $10 for each one-way trip. The program is also operating as a pilot, and as of now will only be available until Sept. 1, 2025 or until funding runs out.
Kevin Meyers, one of the advocates who helped bring back the service, said an on-demand paratransit option is needed for the unpredictable aspects of life.
"When I get this pain my lower back, I need to get an adjustment by my chiropractor," Meyers said. "With the van service you have to schedule 24 hours in advance. So this is where the [same-day paratransit] would come into play [...] so I can get a ride there within an hour."
Donna Brown-Martin, director of Milwaukee County Department of Transportation, said that bringing back the service is the result of months of collaboration between county officials and community advocates.
"From a county perspective ... we really needed to sit down and listen," Brown-Martin said. "We needed to identify what we could do for them in terms of providing a service to meet their needs, but that still fell within the requirements of the Federal Transit Administration."
Budget concerns linger
The pilot program is currently operating off of a $1 million budget granted by the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors. However, no additional funding was allocated to the pilot program in County Executive David Crowley's proposed 2025 budget, meaning the program will end once its current pool of money runs out.
A year after touting "historic investments" in the 2024 budget, County Executive David Crowley said his 2025 budget focuses on "financial sustainability" and the return of budget deficits on the horizon.
"We are simply not out of the woods yet," Crowley said in his budget address to the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. "We know structural deficits have returned and will be back again in the future."
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