La Crosse Municipal Transit Utility

La Crosse Municipal Transit Utility
MTU bus 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 ridership
713,823 (2024)[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

Grand River Station (on right)

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 5:40 am and the last bus returned at 1:00 am. Buses ran at a 10 to 15-minute headway throughout the day. In total, the buses provided close to 1520 hours of service per week. In 2022, the MTU provided only around 1142 hours of service per week, a decline of nearly 25%.

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

La Crosse MTU Routes

The MTU provides these routes seven days a week with varying service levels:

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

Weekday only services:

Services Mon–Sat only:

Grand River Station

Grand River Station is the downtown mixed-use transfer point for most MTU routes and offers a 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] Before construction of Grand River Station, transfers between buses occurred by the Post Office at the intersection of 5th Avenue and State Street.

Grand River Station panorama

Ridership and service

Total RidershipChangeTotal Revenue HoursChangeTotal Revenue MilesChangeFixed Route RidershipChangeFixed Route Revenue HoursChangeFixed Route Revenue MilesChange
2013[9] 1,229,410Increase6.65%89,707n/a1,171,787n/a1,175,528n/a54,206n/a763,957n/a
2014[10] 1,223,182Decrease0.51%81,247Decrease9.43%1,113,534Decrease4.97%1,192,752Increase1.47%54,215Increase0.0%766,569Increase0.34%
2015[11] 1,128,992Decrease7.7%80,624Decrease0.77%1,136,698Increase2.08%1,102,173Decrease7.59%56,160Increase3.59%794,864Increase3.69%
2016[12] 1,059,472Decrease6.16%81,240Increase0.76%1,112,519Decrease2.13%1,032,964Decrease6.28%58,547Increase4.25%830,979Increase4.54%
2017[13] 1,025,797Decrease3.18%70,506Decrease13.21%1,043,529Decrease6.2%999,955Decrease3.2%58,801Increase0.43%844,107Increase1.58%
2018[14] 980,865Decrease4.38%67,404Decrease4.4%1,002,603Decrease3.92%959,453Decrease4.05%58,459Decrease0.58%845,271Increase0.14%
2019[15] 923,030Decrease5.9%67,734Increase0.49%988,717Decrease1.38%905,412Decrease5.63%60,626Increase3.71%866,971Increase2.57%
2020[16] 562,145Decrease39.1%62,788Decrease7.3%887,922Decrease10.19%552,719Decrease38.95%59,275Decrease2.23%826,151Decrease4.71%
2021[17] 524,717Decrease6.66%67,767Increase7.93%983,201Increase10.73%510,235Decrease7.69%62,356Increase5.20%884,284Increase7.04%
2022[18] 606,371Increase15.56%--1,012,367Increase2.97%587,835Increase15.21%--887,773Increase0.39%
2023[19] 685,372Increase13.03%--1,016,566Increase0.41%667,034Increase13.47%--896,617Increase1.0%

Financial Information

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.

YearOperating ExpensesFare RevenueFarebox Recovery RatioOperating Expense per Vehicle Revenue MileOperating Expense per Vehicle Revenue HourOperating Expense per Passenger MileOperating Expense per Unlinked Passenger Trip
2014[10] $4,661,352$633,58219%$6.08$85.98$1.30$3.91
2015[11] $4,993,931$632,43817.3%$6.28$88.92$1.46$4.53
2016[12] $5,123,647$645,20417%$6.17$87.51$1.60$4.96
2017[13] $5,153,871$610,97315.7%$6.11$87.65$1.72$5.15
2018[14] $5,150,579$612,67018%$6.09$88.11$1.79$5.37
2019[15] $5,317,615$537,19414.9%$6.13$87.71$1.96$5.87
2020[16] $5,301,401$170,1868.2%$6.42$89.44$3.20$9.59
2021[17] $5,408,836$251,8329.4%$6.12$86.74$3.54$10.60
2022[20] $5,539,828$440,101-$6.24$91.29$3.15$9.42
2023[21] $6,213,958$470,671-$6.93$102.36$3.29$9.32
2024[22] $6,471,554$472,578-$7.31$105.44$3.28$9.32

Bus fleet

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 of nearly 8 years, down from a high of over 12 years in 2018.[14][17] As of 2023, the bus fleet comprised the following vehicles:[23]

CountYearManufacturerModel
17 2002-2021 Gillig Low Floor 35'
4 2012-2023 Low Floor HEV 35'
2 2021 Proterra ZX5 35'

See also

References

  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. ↑ Vian, Jourdan (April 22, 2019). "La Crosse MTU launches real-time bus-tracking app". La Crosse Tribune. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  5. ↑ Loroff, Alex (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. ↑ Rivard, Leah (October 3, 2022). "La Crosse's MTU launches mobile bus pass app". Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  8. ↑ Marcus, Samantha (August 25, 2010). "La Crosse's new transit center opens late, over budget". La Crosse Tribune.
  9. ↑ "2013 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on June 16, 2025. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
  10. 1 2 "2014 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on June 16, 2025. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
  11. 1 2 "2015 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on June 16, 2025. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
  12. 1 2 "2016 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on June 16, 2025. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
  13. 1 2 "2017 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on June 16, 2025. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
  14. 1 2 3 "2018 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on June 16, 2025. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
  15. 1 2 "2019 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on March 28, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
  16. 1 2 "2020 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on June 16, 2025. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
  17. 1 2 3 "2021 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on June 16, 2025. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
  18. ↑ "National Transit Database". Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  19. ↑ "National Transit Database". Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  20. ↑ "2022 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2024. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
  21. ↑ "2023 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF). Retrieved December 28, 2025.
  22. ↑ "2024 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF). Retrieved December 28, 2025.
  23. ↑ "2023 NTD Vehicle Inventory". Retrieved November 11, 2024.
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