About Milwaukee's Hop streetcar

Eva Wen, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Updated ·1 min read

Two parallel metal tracks stretch across the roads in downtown Milwaukee, soaking up the heat of the summer and the frost of the winter. You wait a bit, a streetcar the length of two buses slides slowly toward you.

You wonder if it’s automatic, running robotically and beeping like that, until you see a conductor in the front seat and you let out the breath you’d been holding — it will stop at traffic lights and behind cars. On the side of the car golden letters read in all caps: “THE HOP.”

41. The Hop is a fixed-transit network that gives a ride to more than 1,000 people a day. The Hop is a relatively new addition to the city, having started running in 2018. But it’s a continuation of a long history of streetcars in the city.
41. The Hop is a fixed-transit network that gives a ride to more than 1,000 people a day. The Hop is a relatively new addition to the city, having started running in 2018. But it’s a continuation of a long history of streetcars in the city.

The Hop is a fixed-transit network that gives a ride to more than 1,000 people a day, going to various destinations in downtown Milwaukee. Its route stretches from Veterans Park to Milwaukee Public Market and expanded to the lakefront in spring 2024.

The Hop is a relatively new addition to the city, having started running in 2018. But it’s a continuation of a long history of streetcars in the city — the first electric streetcar started giving rides in 1890 and for decades was the primary form of transportation.

Today, The Hop has become a staple of downtown life, whether or not you ride it.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: About Milwaukee's Hop streetcar