I hate being right all the time.
Years ago, when the then-Mayor, Tom Barrett, pushed to spend tens of millions of dollars to bring a streetcar to Milwaukee, I warned that it would not only be a costly boondoggle for a city with a 23 percent poverty rate.
The city of Milwaukee once had a fairly decent streetcar system. In 1860, those streetcars were pulled by horses until the innovation of the late 19th and early 20th centuries led to electric-driven streetcars. When World War II led to a massive expansion of the federal highway system, people switched over to cars, the city of Milwaukee turned old rail lines into bike/pedestrian paths, and we moved on.
But Tom Barrett really wanted that streetcar, and he lobbied the federal government hard for funding. More than a decade ago, the project cost was $123.9 million, but the Badger Institute estimated the total cost would be more than $130 million—before operating costs.
By October 2024, the Badger Institute estimated the city was paying $5 million per year to keep the streetcar, named The Hop, working. Some of that cost was initially offset by corporate sponsorships, including from Potawatomi Casino, which agreed to a 12-year, $10 million deal. That deal ends in 2029, and the city is still responsible for $4 million in operating costs each year.
And no, rider revenue is just not enough to cover those costs. Last November, I noted The Hop had about 3.2 million riders since starting service in 2018. That's 457,123 per year. To cover the $4 million operating costs, each rider would have to fork over almost $9. Per ride.
The Hop is still free, and I've never seen more than a dozen people on it at any one time. Part of that is because The Hop literally goes in a circle around Downtown Milwaukee. There's been talk of expanding it to American Family Field, where the Brewers play, or to Potawatomi Casino, or to the north shore suburbs. That has not happened.
And now, The Hop is struggling to operate in the summer heatwave. The situation is so bad, it's suspended service to the Milwaukee Intermodal Station, where Greyhound buses and Amtrak trains stop.
Too hot for the Hop? Heat suspends service to Milwaukee Intermodal Station. High temps and muggy air have caused infrastructure issues, forcing transit crews to scramble to restore full service. https://t.co/WcnnMuWS68 pic.twitter.com/xwpRFJybkU
— Gregory Jon (@gregoryjon) July 14, 2026
The Hop suspended streetcar service to the Milwaukee Intermodal Station due to a heat-related issue with the St. Paul bridge.
The Department of Public Works crews were working at the bridge in Milwaukee on the morning of July 14.
Streetcar service to Burns Commons, the Third Ward and the lakefront is still running. Crews are working to get full service restored.
The brutal heat combined with the muggy air will make the air "feel" like it's over 100 degrees during the peak heating of the afternoon.
Tuesday will be the hottest day of the week and the hottest day so far this year.
I can't help but recall how the Left insists we switch to widespread public transportation. They demand I give up my 2018 Honda Accord to save the planet, and instead ride the bus, which doesn't service places like my gym in the Milwaukee suburbs, or the streetcar. Which isn't working because it's too hot outside.
In February 2025, The Hop was also disabled by the cold and salt, which Milwaukee uses to combat ice on the roads.
How are we supposed to use public transportation when it doesn't work in hot weather or cold weather? You can't.
Which is the point, of course. Leftists have long hated cars—not because of Gaia—but because those cars give Americans untold levels of freedom. The people who were gleeful at the thought of keeping us locked in our homes for months on end over COVID are just itching for a reason to do the same thing in the name of a 'climate emergency.'
Not being able to travel, even on public transportation, is a feature, not a bug, to them.
Tom Barrett, for his part, hung this albatross around our neck before washing his hands of the city and becoming Ambassador to Luxembourg for the Biden Administration.
And, no, we can't just end The Hop. If we do, Milwaukee would have to pay $48 million back to the federal government. Sure, Milwaukee Alderman Scott Spiker has asked Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy for a waiver of that $48 million, and Spiker has bipartisan support from Republican state lawmakers, including Rep. Bob Donovan and Sen. Van Wanggaard, who sent separate letters to Duffy.
"Releasing the City of Milwaukee from these grant obligations would represent an extraordinary step by the federal government, and we recognize the gravity of this request," Donovan and Wanggaard wrote.
Why should federal taxpayers bail out Milwaukee, a blue city in a blue state where the current Governor and Attorney General—both Democrats—refuse to comply with the Trump administration on SNAP information and voter rolls? They shouldn't.
But set that aside for a minute.
The bigger point here is that public transportation is not public. It's set to the whims of the weather and the desires of the bureaucracy. If they decide it's too hot, too cold, or declare a pandemic emergency or a climate emergency, they can cut off transportation, leaving you stuck at home.