MCTS sets 10-passenger limit per bus to help slow Coronavirus spread, riders concerned

MILWAUKEE COUNTY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- “Essential travel” remains the key message from county transit leaders on riding their buses.

And now, they’re making that rule even clearer.

“A maximum of 10 passengers will be allowed on a bus at any given time," said Donna Brown-Martin, director of the Milwaukee County Department of Transportation.

The new limit starts Thursday, April 9, and goes until further notice. 

Transit leaders say this will now give riders extra space to spread out, and help slow any spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Buses at the 10-passenger capacity will not stop.

“We have to find a more workable solution for this, Milwaukee resident Michael Dombrowski said.

Dombrowski told CBS 58 he takes the bus to, and from, work and now he’s worried about getting stranded.

“The bus could pass me up because they’re 10 people on it. The very next bus could pass me up because there’s 10 people one it. And this could repeat itself, theoretically, all night long.”

And like him fellow rider has another work concern.

“If they’re only allowing 10 people on a bus at a time, it’s just going to make people late for work or they’re going to have to leave a lot earlier," Milwaukee resident Tina Bourbonais said.

Leaving earlier, and planning ahead, are exactly what MCTS is stressing to its passengers.

More buses are being added to certain routes.

“We added buses last Friday on PurpleLine, BlueLine, RedLine, and Route 80," MCTS Director Dan Boehm told CBS 58. "We will continue to focus more service from the river (on the east) to 60th Street, and between Capitol Drive on the north and Lincoln Avenue.”

But instead of adding buses and cutting passengers, one rider offered his own solution.

“Perhaps the solution is to add a few more people onto the bus, at any given time, but require gloves and a mask," Dombrowski said.