Initial streetcar daily ridership exceeds city’s projections

Public service for downtown Milwaukee’s new streetcar system is just shy of a month old, and ridership numbers are exceeding the city’s projections.

The Hop transported an average of 2,191 riders a day from Nov. 5 through 18, with the highest single-day ridership totaling 3,806 on Saturday, Nov. 17, according to system officials. 

Ridership for the streetcar was originally projected at 1,850 rides per day, which is about 340 less than the daily ridership it has generated during the two weeks since its Nov. 2 grand opening. By November of 2019, total ridership for The Hop is expected to top 595,000.

The streetcar’s first three days of public service from Nov. 2 to Nov. 4, alone, brought in a total ridership of 16,409.

Rides on The Hop are free for the first year thanks to a $10 million, 12-year naming sponsorship deal with Potawatomi Hotel & Casino. Passengers can wait for the vehicles at one of the 18 stations along the M-Line every 10 to 15 minutes. The L-Line, which will service destinations along the lakefront, is slated to open in 2020.

The Hop operates Monday through Friday from 5 a.m. to midnight, Saturday from 7 a.m. to midnight and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.