New express bus routes to reach riders in three-county area

Local leaders are talking up the launch of a new bus service that will connect people with jobs in a three-county region.

Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele joined Waukesha County Executive Dan Vrakas Friday morning to announce express bus routes. They are the Gold and Purple Lines and Route 61.

About 151,000 people use the Milwaukee County Transit system each day.

This new expansion will serve as a more efficient service for riders in Milwaukee, Waukesha and Washington counties, with fewer stops.

The purple line runs between Green Bay and Hampton avenues. The gold line will operate between Brookfield Square Mall and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The increased bus access allows students and teachers to take advantage of the new option and reduce congestion on campus.

Abele said this multi-county effort was always focused on doing what's best for the community. There was no contention or arguing when working with others. He said this region needs a variety options for transit and that includes a street car.

\"We have spent a lot of time with the city to coordinate our routes with what's proposed for the street car,\" Abele said. \"We're going to do that and I'll work as hard as I can for any investment they make, Dan makes or any other community, to see how can I help make that succeed and leverage it with us.\"

More than $17 million in federal grants helped pay for the new purple and gold express routes.

They launch on Sunday, January 18.