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La Crosse Municipal Transit Utility

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La Crosse Municipal Transit Utility
Bus #1202 in 2020
ParentCity of La Crosse
FoundedJanuary 2, 1975
Headquarters2000 Marco Dr.
LocaleLa Crosse, Wisconsin
Service areaLa Crosse County, Wisconsin
Service typeBus service, Paratransit
Routes11
HubsClinton & Caledonia Transfer Point
StationsGrand River Station
Fleet21
Annual ridership685,372 (2023)[1]
WebsiteLa Crosse MTU

The La Crosse Municipal Transit Utility or MTU is the primary provider of mass transportation in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Using 21 buses, eleven regular routes are provided from Monday through Friday. On Saturdays, the MTU runs six routes, and five routes on Sundays.[2]

History

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Public transit in La Crosse began with the opening of a horse-drawn streetcar line in 1879. Over time, more streetcar lines were added and in 1893, all streetcars had been electrified. Beginning in the early 20th century however, increasing car ownership led to a decline of the privately run streetcar system. As a result, buses began to replace streetcars throughout the city and by November 1945, the last streetcar line closed. The City of La Crosse took over operations of the buses in 1975 from the Mississippi Valley Public Service Company, as the buses could no longer be operated profitably.[3]

In 1945, in the first timetable after streetcar service had ended, there were four bus routes. The earliest bus left at 5:40am and the last bus returned at 1:00am. Buses ran at a 10 to 15 minute headway throughout the day. In total, the buses provided 1519.95 hours of service per week. In 2022, the MTU provides only 1141.6 hours of service per week, a decline of 24.89%.

In 2019, a real time bus tracking mobile app was launched.[4] The first two electric buses were introduced to the system on June 13, 2022, which was followed in October with the launch of a mobile app for fare payment.[5][6][7]

Routes

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Services Mon-Fri (5:12am–10:40pm) Sat (7:42am–7:40pm) Sun (7:42am–6:40pm):

  • Route 1: South Avenue
  • Route 2: Green Bay
  • Route 4: Losey Boulevard
  • Route 5: Valley View Mall
  • Route 6: Northside

Services Mon-Fri only

  • Route 7: French Island
  • Route 8: Crossing Meadows
  • Route 9: Onalaska
  • Ciculator Route 1
  • Circulator Route 2

Services Mon-Sat only:

  • Route 10: La Crescent Apple Express

Grand River Station

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Grand River Station panorama
Grand River Station can be seen on the right of this aerial in downtown La Crosse

Grand River Station is the downtown transfer point for the majority of MTU routes and provides an MTU ticket counter along with retail and housing. The center opened on August 25, 2010, allowing transfers between MTU buses, intercity buses and commuter buses.[8] Prior to the construction of Grand River Station, transfers between buses occurred by the Post Office at the intersection of 5th Avenue and State Street.

Ridership and service

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Total Ridership Change Total Revenue Hours Change Total Revenue Miles Change Fixed Route Ridership Change Fixed Route Revenue Hours Change Fixed Route Revenue Miles Change
2007[9] 1,043,403 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
2008[10] 1,202,018 Increase015.2% n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
2009[11] 1,189,841 Decrease01.01% n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
2010[12] 1,230,030 Increase03.38% n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
2011[13] 1,255,407 Increase02.06% n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
2012[14] 1,152,781 Decrease08.17% n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
2013[15] 1,229,410 Increase06.65% 89,707 n/a 1,171,787 n/a 1,175,528 n/a 54,206 n/a 763,957 n/a
2014[16] 1,223,182 Decrease00.51% 81,247 Decrease09.43% 1,113,534 Decrease04.97% 1,192,752 Increase01.47% 54,215 Increase00.0% 766,569 Increase00.34%
2015[17] 1,128,992 Decrease07.7% 80,624 Decrease00.77% 1,136,698 Increase02.08% 1,102,173 Decrease07.59% 56,160 Increase03.59% 794,864 Increase03.69%
2016[18] 1,059,472 Decrease06.16% 81,240 Increase00.76% 1,112,519 Decrease02.13% 1,032,964 Decrease06.28% 58,547 Increase04.25% 830,979 Increase04.54%
2017[19] 1,025,797 Decrease03.18% 70,506 Decrease013.21% 1,043,529 Decrease06.2% 999,955 Decrease03.2% 58,801 Increase00.43% 844,107 Increase01.58%
2018[20] 980,865 Decrease04.38% 67,404 Decrease04.4% 1,002,603 Decrease03.92% 959,453 Decrease04.05% 58,459 Decrease00.58% 845,271 Increase00.14%
2019[21] 923,030 Decrease05.9% 67,734 Increase00.49% 988,717 Decrease01.38% 905,412 Decrease05.63% 60,626 Increase03.71% 866,971 Increase02.57%
2020[22] 562,145 Decrease039.1% 62,788 Decrease07.3% 887,922 Decrease010.19% 552,719 Decrease038.95% 59,275 Decrease02.23% 826,151 Decrease04.71%
2021[23] 524,717 Decrease06.66% 67,767 Increase07.93% 983,201 Increase010.73% 510,235 Decrease07.69% 62,356 Increase05.20% 884,284 Increase07.04%
2022[24] 606,371 Increase015.56% - - 1,012,367 Increase02.97% 587,835 Increase015.21% - - 887,773 Increase00.39%
2023[25] 685,372 Increase013.03% - - 1,016,566 Increase00.41% 667,034 Increase013.47% - - 896,617 Increase01.0%

Financial Information

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Operating Expenses Fare Revenue Farebox Recovery Ratio Operating Expense per Vehicle Revenue Mile Operating Expense per Vehicle Revenue Hour Operating Expense per Passenger Mile Operating Expense per Unlinked Passenger Trip
2013[26] $4,426,715 $646,955 23% $5.79 $81.66 $1.18 $3.77
2014[27] $4,661,352 $633,582 19% $6.08 $85.98 $1.30 $3.91
2015[28] $4,993,931 $632,438 17.3% $6.28 $88.92 $1.46 $4.53
2016[29] $5,123,647 $645,204 17% $6.17 $87.51 $1.60 $4.96
2017[30] $5,153,871 $610,973 15.7% $6.11 $87.65 $1.72 $5.15
2018[31] $5,150,579 $612,670 18% $6.09 $88.11 $1.79 $5.37
2019[32] $5,317,615 $537,194 14.9% $6.13 $87.71 $1.96 $5.87
2020[33] $5,301,401 $170,186 8.2% $6.42 $89.44 $3.20 $9.59
2021[34] $5,408,836 $251,832 9.4% $6.12 $86.74 $3.54 $10.60

Although the MTU does not recover all of its operating expenses through fares, neither does the local motor vehicle infrastructure recover any of its expenses through user fees. In fact, not one cent of local road costs are paid for by the user, not to mention the abundant subsidized parking in the city.[editorializing]

Bus fleet

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The MTU bus fleet is composed primarily of Gillig Low Floor models. As of 2021, the 22 buses in the fleet had an average age 7.7 years, down from a high of 12.6 years in 2018.[35][36] As of 2023, the bus fleet comprised the following vehicles:[37]

Count Year Manufacturer Model
1 2001 Gillig Low Floor 35'
2 2002 Gillig Low Floor 35'
5 2007 Gillig Low Floor 35'
3 2012 Gillig Low Floor HEV 35'
4 2019 Gillig Low Floor 35'
6 2021 Gillig Low Floor 35'
2 2021 Proterra ZX5 35'
2 2023 Gillig Low Floor HEV 35'

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "National Transit Database". Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  2. ^ "Transit System Map and Rider's Guide".
  3. ^ La Crosse Tribune, February 2, 1964, pg 4
  4. ^ Jourdan Vian (April 22, 2019). "La Crosse MTU launches real-time bus-tracking app". Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  5. ^ Alex Loroff (June 8, 2022). "New electric buses officially debut in La Crosse". Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  6. ^ "City Debuts Two New Electric Buses, La Crosse, WI, 2022". Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  7. ^ Leah Rivard (October 3, 2022). "La Crosse's MTU launches mobile bus pass app". Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  8. ^ "La Crosse's new transit center opens late, over budget". August 25, 2010.
  9. ^ "MTU buses cruise to 1 million served". March 2, 2008.
  10. ^ "Grand River Transit Service Enhancement & Policy Plan 2015-2025".
  11. ^ "Grand River Transit Service Enhancement & Policy Plan 2015-2025".
  12. ^ "Grand River Transit Service Enhancement & Policy Plan 2015-2025".
  13. ^ "Sustainable La Crosse Commission Minutes" (PDF).
  14. ^ "Grand River Transit Service Enhancement & Policy Plan 2015-2025".
  15. ^ "2013 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
  16. ^ "2014 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
  17. ^ "2015 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
  18. ^ "2016 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
  19. ^ "2017 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
  20. ^ "2018 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
  21. ^ "2019 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
  22. ^ "2020 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
  23. ^ "2021 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
  24. ^ "National Transit Database". Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  25. ^ "National Transit Database". Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  26. ^ "2013 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
  27. ^ "2014 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
  28. ^ "2015 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
  29. ^ "2016 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
  30. ^ "2017 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
  31. ^ "2018 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
  32. ^ "2019 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
  33. ^ "2020 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
  34. ^ "2021 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
  35. ^ "2021 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
  36. ^ "2018 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
  37. ^ "2023 NTD Vehicle Inventory". Retrieved November 11, 2024.
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