Bus Rides Free on St. Patrick’s Day

MCTS Bus. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

The Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) is once again offering free bus rides on St. Patrick’s Day thanks to the benevolence of Molson Coors.

The free rides will begin at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 17, and will end when regular service ends for the day, which varies by route but the final buses typically pull into their station for the night after 2 a.m.

The free rides are part of the same program that subsidizes bus rides on another heavy-drinking holiday: New Year’s Eve. The “Free Rides” program, as it’s called, was started by Miller in 1988 and which operated in nine cities throughout 2022. St. Patrick’s Day is the first holiday each year for the program which also subsidizes transit rides during NFL games and the Kentucky Derby.

“Milwaukee has a rich Irish heritage that we continue to celebrate on St. Patrick’s Day,” said Alison Hanrahan, Molson Coors community affairs manager, in a statement. “However you plan to celebrate  this year, rest assured knowing that our Miller Lite Free Rides program is a convenient, safe and reliable way to get home.”

The program is offered so as to keep anyone that’s had too much green beer from getting behind the wheel. Since Miller began offering the free rides program, it has given out approximately eight million rides across the county, with more than one million of them here in Milwaukee.

“We are always eager to support Miller Lite in offering free rides to keep our roads and communities safe on special holidays,” said Kristina Hoffman, MCTS director of marketing and communications. “We are proud to offer a way for Milwaukee County residents to enjoy a night of celebration with friends and family with a responsible ride home from MCTS.”