Milwaukee County bus service through Wauwatosa will be reduced in 2026, though the city was spared from sharper service cuts under a plan approved last week by the county Board of Supervisors.
The service reductions will affect two routes through Tosa: Route 28, which runs north and south mostly along Mayfair Road and 108th Street, and Route 33, which connects downtown Milwaukee and Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis by following Milwaukee Avenue and Glenview Avenue through Tosa Village.
The two routes were among six routes that initially had been considered for elimination under the 2026 county budget, but county supervisors asked the Milwaukee County Transit System for recommendations for minimizing disruptions while closing a $14 million budget gap.
The MCTS solution was to reduce service on 28, 33 and the other four routes to “peak hours,” meaning those buses will continue to run through Wauwatosa but only when ridership is highest. The precise hours have not yet been announced, according to reporting by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
“The loss of six routes would have been a disaster for so many people,” County Supervisor Steven Shea told the Journal Sentinel. “Under the very limited resources that we have, I think it's as good a solution as we could have reasonably expected."
In a statement to Tosa Forward News, County Supervisor Shawn Rolland, whose District 6 includes most of Wauwatosa, called it "one of the best votes I've cast as a county board supervisor — becuase of the impact on people's lives."
"More than 1,300 people ride Routes 28 and 33 every day, getting them to work, the grocery store, the doctor’s office and more," Rolland said. "As a regular bus rider myself, I know how many people depend on it — so I’m thrilled we were able to save these routes from the chopping block."
He added that the county still will need to work to fight fare evasion, reduce costs and pressure the state to provide Milwaukee County with "our fair share of transit funding."
About a dozen MCTS routes touch or pass through Wauwatosa’s neighborhoods, including the rapid transit Connect route along Wisconsin Avenue from downtown Milwaukee to the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center. Of those dozen, the routes with the highest frequency of stops, about once every 15 minutes, include Route 76, which goes north and south on 76th Street and 68th Street, and Route 21, which follows North Avenue east and west.
Routes 28 and 33, on the other hand, are part of a lower tier of MCTS routes with buses that stop on average every 30-40 minutes. Route 28 currently runs from about 5 a.m. to 1 a.m., while Route 33’s hours are about 6 a.m. to midnight. MCTS’ online tracker shows as few as three buses deployed along Route 28 and two on Route 33 during midday hours. (That compares to six buses picking up passengers on Route 76.)
When Route 33 passes through Tosa Village, it overlaps or passes close to other bus lines, such as 76 and 31, meaning that passengers could adapt to a reduction in service by seeking out a different nearby route.
Passengers who are used to taking Route 28 buses on the west side of Wauwatosa, however, might find it more difficult to get around if they lose that route in off-peak hours. The closest north-south option is about a mile east, Route 92, which mostly follows 92nd Street from Timmerman Airport to Layton Avenue.
