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The Milwaukee County Transit System this year will provide a limited number of free bus and paratransit van rides to residents who need a lift to register to vote or obtain a photo identification card required for voting, as part of a County Board-approved mandate inserted into the 2016 budget.

The County Board capped spending at $20,000 for the free-ride program and required MCTS to submit a plan no later than Feb. 1, under a budget amendment adopted in November. The money has been placed in a contingency account pending board approval of the final plan.

MCTS Managing Director Dan Boehm is recommending distribution of disposable M-Card electronic fare cards loaded with a $4 cash value to provide one round-trip bus fare and transfers needed along the way. Transfers would be valid for up to 90 minutes.

Residents seeking transportation either to state Division of Motor Vehicles offices to receive a photo ID or to a village or city hall to register to vote would be able to go online at the MCTS website, www.ridemcts.com, and request the special fare card, Boehm said in a memo to Supervisor Michael Mayo Sr., chairman of the board's transportation committee.

The transit system also could establish a dedicated phone number for county residents to call to request a card, Boehm said. The proposal will be discussed at a Jan. 20 meeting of the transportation committee.

"That's a good start," Supervisor Khalif Rainey, sponsor of the budget amendment, said Thursday.

"This is a service for those who are interested in participating in our democracy," Rainey said. "This shows we can include residents who otherwise would be excluded from voting."

Boehm suggests spending the $20,000 budget on both bus fares and paratransit van service.

An estimated 3,400 of the round-trip M-Cards could be mailed to residents at a cost of $5 each, including fare, postage and handling, he said. Total expense of issuing that many free ride cards would be $17,000.

As many as 50 round-trip paratransit van rides could be provided to people with disabilities at a cost of $60 each. That many van rides would consume the remaining $3,000 in the program's budget.

In the memo to Mayo, Boehm acknowledged "it will be very difficult to ensure that bus fares will actually be used for the intended purpose." And the possibility of fraud is real, Boehm said, "since the fare card itself has a monetary value and could be resold after distribution by MCTS."

"MCTS has more control over rides that are arranged through its paratransit van service providers for eligible individuals," he said.

In late 2014, the County Board approved a separate free bus ride program known as GO Pass over the veto of County Executive Chris Abele and required it to start in April.

The popular free ride pass for county residents 65 years or older and those with disabilities provided 3.2 million free rides in 2015.

Abele's 2016 transit system budget of $163 million added $2.1 million from the property tax levy to make up for bus fare revenue decreases resulting from GO Pass use and declining overall ridership.

MCTS plans to study the impact of the GO Pass on fare revenue after April 1, when the program will have been operating a full 12 months.