Milwaukee County Transit System bus stops line the streets of Milwaukee, several lying within Marquette’s campus, allowing students to explore the city at their convenience. Here’s how students can utilize the service:
Via public transit, Marquette students have access to Milwaukee’s lakefront, restaurants, sporting events, festivals, jobs and more — all for free with a university-provided bus pass.
“Go explore your city,” Jesus Ochoa, MCTS planning manager, said. “In college, people come from everywhere. The bus is one of the ways people learn more about what [Milwaukee] has to offer.”
With frequent stops reaching several destinations, Marquette students can plan their trips around their specific needs. Students can board the bus through the UMO app using a U-PASS included in tuition.
“Everything’s through UMO: you plan your trip, track your bus and pay your fare all at the same time. Students have crazy schedules and so all of these apps and tools out there really make it easier,” Ochoa said.
To use UMO as a student, download the app, create an account and input a personalized code (found in the Student Services section of Checkmarq) to access the U-PASS and ride for free.
“That’s the only way I know how to ride the bus,” Alex Love, a sophomore in the College of Business Administration, said. “You don’t really have to plan too far ahead, which is nice.”
MCTS’ CONNECT 1 and Route 30 buses make stops along Marquette’s campus on Wisconsin Avenue at 9th, 12th and 16th streets. Passengers should expect approximately a seven-minute wait between bus arrivals during peak hours.
Once it’s time to travel, select your destination and route, scan the QR code in the UMO Wallet upon entering the bus and track the live location of the bus during the ride. After passengers are signaled with a green light and chime, they are set to ride for 90 minutes with each U-PASS scan. Passengers can request a stop by pulling the yellow cords lining the sides of the bus.
Marquette is one of four Milwaukee universities that partner with MCTS’ U-PASS program. Students are granted access to free bus rides with a fee of $25 a semester, which is included in tuition.
“If we didn’t have the bus pass, I think I’d stay more secluded in our campus,” Nora Grillo, a sophomore in the College of Nursing, said. “I use it anywhere that’s out of the range of walking around. I don’t really like paying for Ubers, so I just use my U-Pass.”
MCTS operates from 4 a.m.-1 a.m., giving students nearly-around-the-clock access to public transportation.
“It cuts down a lot of the walking time. I could spend more time doing a certain activity in a certain area,” Matthew Schacht, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences, said. “Some of college is just about forming that independent lifestyle.”
Marquette University believes being located in Milwaukee is a core part of the student experience. For some students, riding the bus becomes second-nature while living in Milwaukee and extends their Marquette experience beyond campus perimeters.
“I can go wherever I want, whenever I want, and I don’t need to rely on a friend who has a car,” Grillo said. “It’s a good skill to have.”
Since their MOVE 25 plan, MCTS services 49 routes across 19 municipalities. The changes implemented in MCTS’ fall services allow students to travel further, sometimes without having to transfer buses. Among 39 other route changes, Route 14 now extends to Bayshore Mall.
“We also introduced four new routes, one that actually came from a Marquette student a couple of years ago. They were wondering why we didn’t have a route that went down to [American Family Field],” Ochoa said.
American Family Field can now be accessed via Route 18. Ochoa said that customer feedback is crucial to MCTS’ initiatives and is taken into thorough consideration.
One ride at a time, Marquette students can seize the opportunity to connect with the city of Milwaukee.
“We’re in the business of moving people,” Ochoa said. “Transit does it best, so we encourage students to try it out, and who knows, they might be a lifelong transit rider.”
This story was written by Elena Metinidis. She can be reached at [email protected].
