× Expand Ridership numbers were strong for the Hop during its first month of operation last November.

The Hop, Milwaukee’s shiny new streetcar serving a portion of Downtown, is alive and well. However, difficulties still remain regarding expansion to more areas across the city.

This comes as ridership data was released for last November, the first month of the streetcar’s operation. 76,125 total rides were given during the month, while The Hop grand opening weekend from November 2-4 saw 16,409 individuals checking out the new streetcar for themselves. After the opening weekend, ridership numbers averaged out to 2,297 individual rides per day.

Expansion

Expanding The Hop has remained a top priority for city officials who support the streetcar. It was at the grand opening event that Mayor Tom Barrett said, “We have started the design work on the first leg of the streetcar to Bronzeville.” The City has been making plans to extend the streetcar to the Wisconsin Center District. Also possible is an expansion to the Fiserv Forum. However, funding has remained an issue for this possible expansion.

As it is now, the streetcar runs 2.1 miles, from the Lower East Side to the Milwaukee Intermodal Station, with 18 stops in between that include the Milwaukee Public Market, Milwaukee School of Engineering and City Hall. Further expansions could bode well for Milwaukee’s bid for the 2020 Democratic National Convention. But expanding the streetcar to Bronzeville, and beyond, has also been important for many streetcar naysayers, as many opponents of The Hop say the streetcar is only benefiting the downtown area.

× Expand Credit: TheHopMKE.com The 2.1 mile streetcar route runs from the Lower East Side to the Milwaukee Intermodal Station

“We have already begun to initiate design for the first leg of an extension to Bronzeville,” said Public Works Commissioner Jeff Polenske. “In an effort to make the project more shovel ready and better positioned to more quickly utilize any funding sources that may become available, we have begun the preliminary engineering and utility coordination activities.”

The Common Council has already approved $20 million for the $40 million expansion project to the Fiserv Forum, but the city was recently denied a federal BUILD grant that would have likely paid for the rest of the project. “Ideally, we’re always trying to leverage as much federal funding as we can,” Polenske recently said, “but we are looking at our options.”

Alderman Robert Bauman said he has had informal talks with representatives from the Milwaukee Bucks regarding them helping to pay for the expansion, but he said so far all he has received is “a polite decline.” Ald. Bauman, who is a vocal advocate for the streetcar, said he is hopeful that the streetcar will at least get to Wisconsin Avenue soon, adding that they will go as far as they can with the funds they have.

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Even as the Bucks have declined to pay for the project, Bucks Senior Vice President Alex Lasry is leading the charge for Milwaukee’s bid for the Democratic National Convention. The Shepherd reached out to officials from the Bucks for this story, but they did not respond before the story was published.

“To me, they would be the biggest beneficiary,” said Ald. Bauman about the Bucks.

A New App?

Riders are still choosing to brave the cold to ride the streetcar, even as the only schedules available for patrons includes a schedule posted at the platform and an online PDF timetable on the streetcar’s website. City officials have said an app providing real-time data on the location of the streetcar would come in December—but that was back in November. An app like this could help inform riders when there are substantial delays—saving riders time and keeping them warm, especially during the cold winter months.

When asked about the app, Polenske said proving real time data is a “top priority.” However, he said that he still doesn’t have an exact date for when they will roll out the app publicly.

Delays have been of concern at times, as cars blocking service or mechanical issues have been impacting wait times for the streetcar. The Hop hoped to fix this issue with their Hop Alerts Twitter account, which has posted twelve “rider alerts” since the account began in the middle of December.