Hop Ridership Surges During Busy Festival Weekend

Milwaukee – Ridership of The Hop, presented by Potawatomi Casino Hotel, surged during a busy festival weekend as Milwaukee’s Bastille Days Festival and the H-D Homecoming Festival brought thousands of visitors downtown. The Hop averaged 4,557 riders per day from July 13-16, including 6,883 passengers on Saturday, July 15. That stands as the fourth-highest ridership day on record for The Hop, trailing only July 12-13, 2019, during the last pre-COVID Bastille Days, and Nov. 3, 2018, during the streetcar’s “Grand Hop-ening” weekend.

“The strong ridership numbers from last weekend are further evidence that The Hop is delivering on its promise to contribute to a more vibrant and accessible downtown community,” Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said. “Part of what makes weekends like these so important is that a lot of new riders are introduced to the benefits of convenient and accessible transit, and that will go a long way towards not only turning new riders into repeat riders but also bolstering our broader efforts to support transit and build safer streets.”

While the pandemic had a significant impact on public transit ridership, both here in Milwaukee and throughout the country, The Hop continues to steadily regain the pre-pandemic momentum that saw streetcar ridership outpacing pre-launch projections. As of June 30, The Hop has recorded 27 consecutive months of year-over-year ridership increases, with the 50,293 passengers in June representing approximately 70% of the pre-COVID ridership from June 2019. According to data compiled by the American Public Transportation Association, that 70% rebound is perfectly in line with the national average as well as with other similar-sized cities (https://transitapp.com/APTA).

Earlier this spring, The Hop surpassed the 2,000,000-rider mark since the system launched on Nov. 2, 2018. Complete ridership data for The Hop is available online at https://thehopmke.com/ridership/.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.