Milwaukee Streetcar Manager Departs For New Orleans

The general manager of The Hop, Milwaukee’s streetcar, has left the city to take a job with the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority.

Darryll Simpson was hired in September 2017 by Paris-based Transdev Services Inc., the contractor that operates Milwaukee’s streetcar. Transdev also runs the New Orleans RTA.

Terry Mulcahy, a longtime rail manager with more than 30 years of experience in the industry, has been named by Transdev to take Simpson’s place.

Under Simpson’s tenure, the $124 million streetcar began its operations in November.

City Public Works Director Jeff Polenske declined to be interviewed on Simpson’s departure. The department released a written statement saying Simpson’s leadership as the Hop’s general manager was invaluable and he will be an “incredible asset” to the New Orleans community.

“The incredible operations team that Darryll has assembled and trained leaves us very well-positioned for continued success,” the statement said.

Milwaukee Alderman Robert Bauman, who has been a vocal supporter of the streetcar, said ridership and operations have exceeded expectations. During the Milwaukee streetcar’s opening weekend, riders took 16,409 trips on its initial 2.1-mile downtown route. The Hop is free to riders during the first year of operation.

The city would not release the Hop’s latest ridership numbers.

Bauman said he recently spoke to a rider who takes The Hop to work in Milwaukee’s Third Ward neighborhood and said he will end up saving $1,000 a year in parking expenses.

“That is exactly what we expected to take place — people making rational decisions to save money and improve their quality of life,” Bauman said.

One of the continued challenges with The Hop has been getting enough funding to pay for the streetcar’s expansion.

In December, the city learned it did not receive a federal transportation grant to extend the streetcar line to the Fiserv Forum. The federal BUILD grant would have paid for half of the $40 million cost to extend the route to the Bucks arena.

The city was hoping to have the route running in time for the 2020 Democratic National Convention, which Milwaukee is still competing for. If Milwaukee is chosen to host the convention, it will be held at the Fiserv Forum.

The only project in Wisconsin to win a federal BUILD grant was a $19.8 million proposal calling for the construction of an interchange on Highway 29 in Brown County.

Bauman said there is enough local funds to extend the streetcar line to the Milwaukee convention center. That line should be completed by late spring of 2020, Bauman said.

The city is also planning to complete the design work to Fiserv Forum so if public or private money does become available, the preliminary steps are completed, Bauman said.

“We will likely submit another application, but frankly with the Trump administration, I have no optimism we will receive federal funding,” Bauman said.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has proposed an 8-cent increase to the gas tax in his budget, which will be used mainly to fund road projects.

“Clearly if it were my wish list, it would be if you want to raise revenue, half would go into public transit or rail infrastructure, whether it be inner city, local, whatever the case may be,” Bauman said.