Wikipedia

La Crosse Municipal Transit Utility

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]

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

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  015.2% 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  01.01% 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  03.38% 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  02.06% 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  08.17% 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  06.65% 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  00.51% 81,247  09.43% 1,113,534  04.97% 1,192,752  01.47% 54,215  00.0% 766,569  00.34%
2015[17] 1,128,992  07.7% 80,624  00.77% 1,136,698  02.08% 1,102,173  07.59% 56,160  03.59% 794,864  03.69%
2016[18] 1,059,472  06.16% 81,240  00.76% 1,112,519  02.13% 1,032,964  06.28% 58,547  04.25% 830,979  04.54%
2017[19] 1,025,797  03.18% 70,506  013.21% 1,043,529  06.2% 999,955  03.2% 58,801  00.43% 844,107  01.58%
2018[20] 980,865  04.38% 67,404  04.4% 1,002,603  03.92% 959,453  04.05% 58,459  00.58% 845,271  00.14%
2019[21] 923,030  05.9% 67,734  00.49% 988,717  01.38% 905,412  05.63% 60,626  03.71% 866,971  02.57%
2020[22] 562,145  039.1% 62,788  07.3% 887,922  010.19% 552,719  038.95% 59,275  02.23% 826,151  04.71%
2021[23] 524,717  06.66% 67,767  07.93% 983,201  010.73% 510,235  07.69% 62,356  05.20% 884,284  07.04%
2022[24] 606,371  015.56% - - 1,012,367  02.97% 587,835  015.21% - - 887,773  00.39%
2023[25] 685,372  013.03% - - 1,016,566  00.41% 667,034  013.47% - - 896,617  01.0%

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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Fleet size Average fleet age
2013[35] 21 8.5
2014[36] 18 9.5
2015[37] 21 9.6
2016[38] 21 10.6
2017[39] 21 11.6
2018[40] 21 12.6
2019[41] 23 11.4
2020[42] 21 11.7
2021[43] 22 7.7

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. ^ "2013 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
  36. ^ "2014 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
  37. ^ "2015 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
  38. ^ "2016 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
  39. ^ "2017 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
  40. ^ "2018 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
  41. ^ "2019 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
  42. ^ "2020 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
  43. ^ "2021 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
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