Last fall, Democrats in Wisconsin sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, begging him and the Trump administration to save the City of Milwaukee from the boondoggle that is The Hop, the streetcar project put into place by former Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and funded with federal dollars. The Hop has cost the city tens of millions of dollars in upkeep and salaries, despite corporate sponsorships.
Spiker was backed by Republican state lawmakers Bob Donovan and Van Wanggaard, who supported the request for the Department of Transportation to waive the $48 million Milwaukee would be required to pay back if The Hop ceased operating.
Almost a year later, The Hop is still on life support as Milwaukee is increasingly desperate to be freed of this albatross around its neck.
For years, Milwaukee taxpayers have been told that The Hop streetcar is an investment in the city’s future. Yet after millions of dollars in operating costs, repeated management failures, and ongoing questions about financial sustainability, it is becoming increasingly difficult… pic.twitter.com/h0JhkAGCOw
— The Heartland Post (@HeartlandPostWI) October 4, 2026
For years, Milwaukee taxpayers have been told that The Hop streetcar is an investment in the city’s future. Yet after millions of dollars in operating costs, repeated management failures, and ongoing questions about financial sustainability, it is becoming increasingly difficult to justify keeping the system running.
Mayor Cavalier Johnson appointed Tiffany Shepherd to serve as the primary media spokesperson for the Department of Public Works, the agency responsible for overseeing The Hop. With a salary exceeding $100,000, taxpayers have a right to ask a simple question: Where are the promotions and public outreach for the streetcar system? For a service that consistently requires public support and funding, there seems to be little visible effort to increase ridership or build enthusiasm among residents.
Streetcar system manager Andrew Davis-Lockward was forced to resign after missing deadlines to apply for federal grants. A state inspection also found “significant deformation” on the wheels of streetcar vehicles. These issues raised serious concerns about both management and oversight.
According to reporting by Urban Milwaukee’s Jeramey Jannene, the missed grant applications could have cost the city $4.8 million in federal funding. Shepherd later stated that the city ultimately submitted the application but failed to secure the grant.
This writer lives in a suburb of Milwaukee, so she's seen the problems, and knows that The Hop has suspended operation in bitterly cold and swelteringly hot weather — two things that happen frequently in Wisconsin. The Hop also faced several injury lawsuits from cyclists who said the tracks caused their bikes to become stuck, leading to falls and injuries.
Tom Barrett and anyone else involved in shoving this through in spite of massive public opposition should be stripped of all of their assets to pay restitution.
— In His Fold (@BleatingSheep1) October 5, 2026
Former Mayor Tom Barrett wanted this, then he hightailed it out of Milwaukee for a cushy European ambassador gig, leaving the rest of us to bail out his mess. Again. The killer here is that Milwaukee had a lot of rail that would have been perfect for a streetcar that did more than go in a circle, which is all The Hop does. But officials ripped up those tracks to make walking/biking paths, believing light rail was a thing of the past.
And Milwaukee Democrats have long loathed President Donald Trump and Secretary Duffy. Now they desperately need Trump and Duffy to save them from tens of millions of dollars in grant reimbursements. On top of that, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers — also a Democrat — is refusing to cooperate with the administration on voter rolls and SNAP benefits. What reason does President Trump have to bail out a city and a governor who despise him?