Things I Miss About Milwaukee: The Green Line

As many of you know, I am an avid supporter and frequent rider of public transportation. Though I have a license, I have been fortunate enough to live in cities with decent public transportation and am thankful I can use it to get from place to place.

Moving to Minneapolis has welcomed me to a new routes, more expensive bus passes, a lightrail and “rush hour fare.” Though Minneapolis is big and beautiful and home, its bus system, I am learning, is far from what I have been use to.

I miss the Green Line. I miss how it connected the North side of Milwaukee to the South side. It got me everywhere I needed to go. It is the best bus route Milwaukee County Transit could have ever created—running from Bayshore Mall, down Oakland, Brady, Water and eventually Howell, all the way to the airport. And the more exciting thing about it…I lived right on it! In some ways I considered the Green Line my lifeline. It was my personal pulse that connected me with the entire city. It allowed me to go shopping, get to work, meet friends for dinner and drinks, and get me to the airport to fly back home. It was my saving grace and I didn’t realize how thankful I was for it until I came back home to bus routes like the “5F,” or the “5M,” or the “46C,” or “23H.” How confusing! I need to make sure to not take the “5B” when coming from downtown because it only takes me to 38th and Chicago Ave, when I need to go all the way to 48th Street. And don’t get me started on the infrequency of routes. Most buses here only run every half hour, which makes getting to work a hassle I wasn’t ready to face.

I shouldn’t complain, but for someone who loves riding the bus and the ability to get from place to place without asking to borrow my parent’s car, this is a pain. I miss dragging my groceries on the bus. I miss not being to get to Target in five minutes. I miss waiting out in the rain, sleet, snow, and sweltering heat. It humbled me and made me appreciate this thing that so many people take for granted. I am in no way saying that Milwaukee County Transit is perfect. And I have had some harrowing experiences taking the bus…but I never want to give up riding the bus. It connects me to the place I call home.

So thank you Green Line for being the keeper of memories and the pulse of my city. I miss you every time I hop on the “5L”…