The Hop's first expansion, the L-Line, will fully open its first new route extension on Thursday, April 11 at 12 p.m.
The L-Line streetcar will begin serving the Lakefront stop inside the Couture transit concourse, providing riders with access to Milwaukee’s lakefront and its countless destinations and attractions.
Bailey Twin takes the The Hop almost every day to school in the Third Ward.
On the M-Line she likes the ease and convenience of getting around downtown.
"I love how convenient it is and that it is free," said Bailey.
The Hop's M-Line connects riders from the Intermodal Station and downtown to the Lower East Side and Historic Third Ward, stopping at popular areas like City Hall, Cathedral Square, and the Public Market.
Soon, passengers will have more options to travel to, as the L-Line will now take riders to destination spots by the lakefront.
"It will be really awesome. It will bring more local people to travel around downtown rather than on foot. It will be faster and easier," said Bailey.
The L-Line opened on a limited basis on Oct. 29, providing service only on Sundays. The 2-mile route will share five existing streetcar stations along with the M-Line, and three new stops are now added along the lakefront, connecting riders to The Couture, Henry Maier Festival Park, Milwaukee Art Museum, and Discovery World. Riders will be able to transfer between M- and L-Lines at any of the five overlapping stations.
"It's always better to have new options, especially for people coming from Chicago. It will make it easier for them to get down to the Summerfest grounds," said rider Chris Durgin.
Last year, The Hop gave almost 495,000 rides in 2023. That's up about 30% from 2022. Ridership surged in July during Bastille Days and the Harley Davidson Festival, providing 65,749 riders with transportation that month. Milwaukee is known as the city of festivals, and Joe Baumann says providing additional transportation options for people to get around the city is essential and beneficial to all.
"It being free is really nice. It's a good option, especially in the summertime. The fewer cars out and about, the better. It's pretty wild out here," said Joe.
The L-Line operates independently from the M-Line, served by one streetcar operating in a figure-eight pattern proceeding east on Michigan St., south through the Couture site, west on Clybourn St., north on Milwaukee St. to Kilbourn Ave, and south on Broadway to St. Paul Ave.
The L-Line car will provide service every 20 minutes to the existing Wisconsin Ave NB/SB, City Hall NB/SB and Historic Third Ward EB stations, as well as new stations at Michigan at Jackson EB, Clybourn at Jefferson WB, and the Lakefront stop inside the Couture transit concourse. Riders will be able to transfer between the M- and L-Lines at any of the five overlapping stations.
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