La Crosse debuts new bus route, hits popular stops

La Crosse’s bus service began a new route Tuesday that will run every 30 minutes with stops at many well visited places in the city.

The circulator route, called MTU Go route is as follows:

• Grand River Station
• Past Gundersen Health System
• Up Green Bay Street
• To the Village Shopping Center on Losey Boulevard
• West past Jackson Plaza
• To the La Crosse YMCA
• To the Main Street La Crosse Public Library
• And back to Grand River Station
• La Crosse’s newest bus route has been in the works for a couple of years.

In 2016, the MTU sought public input for where a circulator route should stop. Tuesday’s debut was the result of that study.

La Crosse’s new transit manager Adam Lorentz said the idea was to find the places where riders really want to go.

“What they did, they were looking for neighborhoods that don’t have access to certain amenities such as grocery stores, banks and medical,” he said.

The route features two buses going in different directions at the same during the day.

For now, the circulator route only runs on weekdays, but Lorentz said that could change.

“We’re looking at options to see if that necessity is there but we want to make sure that the working people of those neighborhoods have access to these areas,” he said.

The two routes through downtown run from 7 a.m.-5 p.m. and from 5-10 p.m., only the bus that runs south to Gundersen is in operation.