Verified Facts and Open Questions

Fare-free first: about $0.5 to $0.6M a year. The bigger network phases in later ($13.8M starter, $22.6M full).

Verified facts

• Levy limit, no transit exception; routes via 66.0602(3)(g), (3)(i), (4). docs.legis.wisconsin.gov; LFB levy paper, January 2025.
• RTAs repealed, 2011 Act 32; SB 754 died March 23, 2026 (billtrack50).
• $30 city wheel tax, General Ordinance 16-26-27, passed 7 to 2 on October 2, 2026, effective February 1, 2027; about $999,260 a year (citizenportal.ai). Admin fee about 3 cents (WisDOT).
• Tier B pool $25,475,900 (Wis. Stat. 85.20(4m)).
• 5307 up to 50% operating under 200,000; CMAQ startup about 3 years over up to 5; 5311(f) 15% intercity.
• Paratransit fare cap and service area, 49 CFR 37.131; current fare $4.00.
• Shoreline Metro: $4,295,776 (2024), $94.65 per hour, 582,212 boardings, 22 coaches; 2026 uses last relief money.
• 2026 levy $30,129,824; rate $6.2452 per $1,000; median home $174,200.
• Pedestrian swing bridge, Virginia Avenue to South Pier Drive, late 2027; RAISE $5,341,931, match $1,335,483.
• TID 21 ramps, $20M to $22M range across plan versions.
• Blue Harbor walk 1.09 mi, 23.5 min; bike 1.15 mi, 7.6 min; drive 4.0 min (OSRM, October 26, 2026).
• PROWAG final rule, August 8, 2023 (3.5 ft/s, 7 s walk, accessible signals); MUTCD 11th Edition, 2023.
• Wis. Stat. 66.0907(5) sidewalk snow backstop and special tax.
• 2019 Act 11 and Wis. Stat. 349.237 scooter rules; Class 1 to 3 e-bikes.
• Coast Guard OUPV and Subchapter T thresholds.
• goMARTI, Grand Rapids, Minnesota: free, year-round, through at least 2028.
• I-41 Thruway ended October 1, 2025; Hiawatha study via Fond du Lac; Indian Trails Sheboygan to Milwaukee.
• MCTS Route 68 to Brown Deer, about every 30 minutes, last weekday southbound about 9:45 PM.
• Electric bus cold-weather range loss about one third (NREL).
• Shoreline Metro 2026 budget: fixed fares $308,000, paratransit fares $275,000, HotSpot fees $5,000, advertising and marketing $20,000, school district agreement $91,350, federal 5307 $1,623,768, $84.86 per hour, 55.5% combined state and federal share (Transit Commission packet, July 2025).
• 2026 fare table and free school trippers; 2025 fare process with 30-day comment and public hearing (Transit Commission, July 8, 2025; Shoreline Metro public notice).
• NTD fares $546,349 (2024), recovery 12.7%.
• 49 U.S.C. 5307(c)(1)(I), (d)(2), (d)(3); FTA C 9030.1E net operating cost definition.
• 49 CFR 21.9(d) and FTA C 4702.1B Title VI notice; 49 CFR 37.167(f) accessible information; Wis. Stat. 19.84.
• Kansas City: $500,000 to $750,000 a year in farebox and armored costs on about $12 million in fares; $10 million farebox replacement avoided (Governing); 90% of disputes about fares (Smart Cities Dive); security incidents down 39% (MARC 2021).
• Alexandria DASH: up to $7 million in farebox upgrades avoided (DASH Fare Free Program Report 2023).
• Intercity Transit: fares under 2% of operating revenue; card system at least $1 million (The Olympian).
• Fare-free agencies average 26% fewer security incidents (Penn State NTD study).
• Farebox prices: Placer County $18,634 each (2024); Hampton Roads $846,587 for 51; Indianapolis $381,366 for 20.
• Boarding times: no fare 1.6 seconds, flash pass 2.2, cash 4.2 (TCRP dwell time synthesis, National Academies).
• Swing bridge RAISE award $5,341,931, August 2022 (Senator's press release; WHBL); match $1,335,483 (Res. 65-23-24); TIP construction $6,677,000 in 2027 (Bay-Lake RPC).
• FY2027 CDS and CPF rules, caps and deadlines (Senate Appropriations FY2027 general guidance; House FY2027 CPF guidance; Senate office THUD guidance).
• FY2026 Bus and Low-No NOFO, $21 million and $589 million, due September 21, 2026 (FTA; Federal Register 2026-15090).
• BUILD FY2026, $1.5 billion, closed February 24, 2026; FY2027 not released (NLC; U.S. DOT).
• Areas of Persistent Poverty, no future funding anticipated (FTA program page).
• WisDOT TAP and CMAQ cycles, next about summer 2027 (WisDOT program pages; governor's releases).
• Transit Capital Assistance, $20 million GPR proposed in 2025-27 budget, SB 45 (Wisconsin Legislature).
• Madison Forward Fund, IRP and CGIR (UW-Madison IRP; guaranteedincome.us).
• CDBG: 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan, about $900,000 a year; 2026 anticipated $928,390 and $160,000 Section 108 repayment (City of Sheboygan; Sheboygan Life, September 23, 2026); 24 CFR 570.200, 570.201, 570.705.
• ARPA SLFRF $22,006,206, final allocation Res. 134-24-25 (City of Sheboygan, December 16, 2024).
• FTA CARES $3,497,562 and ARPA $1,426,648 (FTA FY2024 Triennial Review); relief-funded vehicles and roof (WisDOT 2024 Performance Review); CMAQ $2,100,000 (WisDOT CMAQ SFY2025-2028 awards).

Open questions

• City of Sheboygan sidewalk snow ordinance text and deadline.
• Swing bridge operating schedule, Coast Guard drawbridge rules, and whether bikes may ride across.
• Exact walk distance via the new bridge once built (current figure is a map estimate).
• Whether the council would add a transit share to the wheel tax or reallocate part of the $30.
• Equalized versus assessed value for referendum math (the $4.82 billion figure is derived from the levy and rate).
• Fare revenue lost when going fare-free, and the added paratransit cost.
• Wisconsin rules for driverless shuttle operation on public streets.
• A funding mechanism for city-led sidewalk clearing (special charge versus general budget).
• The "about $10M" of new city bridge money mentioned in version 1 is still unverified and is not used here.
• A Milwaukee-side plan for Lakeshore Link riders arriving after the last Route 68 trip.
• Staff hours spent on fare counting, pass sales and reduced-fare cards (not a separate budget line).
• Printed timetable and rider guide costs (not a separate budget line).
• Added paratransit demand when paratransit becomes free (Kansas City saw $1.2 million in added paratransit cost, MARC 2021).
• Whether the school district agreement continues once fares end.
• Shoreline Metro's own security incident counts from NTD.
• Shoreline Metro's actual farebox model, age and replacement date.

Creative Funding open questions

• Was the $20 million Transit Capital Assistance program enacted in the final 2025-27 budget, and when is its next round?
• Does the junior U.S. Senator's office accept CDS requests for FY2028?
• Exact FY2028 member deadlines for CDS and CPF (expected January to March 2027).
• Release date and amount of the FY2027 BUILD and 5339 NOFOs.
• Will IRP and CGIR co-design a "Mobility as Income" study, and which foundations would fund it?
• Would local hospitals or large employers sponsor a route, trip or hub (never required)?
• How much of the 15% CDBG public-services room is already committed in the 2026 Annual Action Plan?
• Did any city or transit pandemic funds buy used buses? City and FTA records show new cutaways and support vehicles only.

The whole plan