Summerfest is right now, and transportation can cause quite a fuss. If you don't feel like sitting in traffic before or after a long day of music, or don't want to miss the next show, these alternate ways of getting to and fro the world's largest music festival can be your new best friend. 

Park and ride shuttles

Every day during the Big Gig starting at 5 p.m., Summerfest will offer a $15 round-trip service from various park-and-rides in Milwaukee County. Summerfest is encouraging people to reserve a seat on its website in advance, to avoid missing out on a seat in case tickets sell out. Here are the locations for pick up and drop off:

•     Milwaukee/College Avenue Park and Ride (I-43/I-94/County ZZ/College Avenue)
•     Milwaukee/Holt Avenue Park and Ride (I-94/I-43/US 41/Holt Avenue)
•     Hales Corners Park and Ride (I-43/I-894/WIS 100)
•     West Allis Park and Ride (State Fair Grounds – I-94/76th Street)
•     Wauwatosa Park and Ride (US 45/Watertown Plank Road)

For more information, click here. 

The Hop

For the sake of Summerfest sanity, The Hop will go beyond its normal service and add extra hours during the festival as of June 19. With service stations in the Third Ward just a ten-minute walk from the main gate, The Hop is a convenient option for transportation to and from the grounds. Riders can track the location of streetcars in real-time on the interactive map.

Here are the hours of operation:

• Monday-Friday – 5 a.m. to midnight
• Saturday – 7 a.m. to midnight
• Sunday – 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

For all nine nights of Summerfest, the hours of operation will be extended until 1 a.m. 

MCTS buses

Despite MCTS not being able to offer its special Summerfest service again this year, there are still plenty of ways to use the bus to get down to the grounds. There are several routes that will get you close enough to make transportation a cost-effective breeze. 

GoldLine (Wisconsin Ave – UWM)

Take the gold line and get off at Wisconsin & Cass, Wisconsin & Jackson, or Prospect & Mason to get closest to the grounds.

GreenLine (Bayshore – Airport)

Use the Water & Chicago and Water & St. Paul. stops to get to and from the festival.

Route 14 (Humboldt – Forest Home)

For this line, get off and on at Wisconsin & Cass and Prospect & Mason.

Route 18 (National – Greenfield)

Water & Chicago and Water & St. Paul. are the closest stops on this route.

Route 15 (Holton – Kinnickinnic)

This line can take you to those same stops as the previous at Water & Chicago and Water & St. Paul.

Route 30 (Sherman – Wisconsin)

Get off and on at Van Buren & Wisconsin (eastbound) and Wisconsin & Jackson (westbound) to get closest to Summerfest.

Route 33 (Vliet – 84th)

Prospect & State and Van Buren & State are going to be where you want to stop. 

Bublr Bikes

Why use four wheels when two will work quite nicely? Bublr Bikes are a Brew City staple, with bike stations found around the entire city. It's the perfect way to get to and from the Big Gig while enjoying the gorgeous summer weather the entire time. For a list of Bublr station locations and for more information on how to rent a bike, click here. 

Bar shuttles

If you're interested in pregaming before heading to the grounds, there are a ton of bars that offer transportation to and from the festival. 

• The Belmont Tavern – 784 N. Jefferson St.
• Buck Bradley's – 1019 N. 3rd St.
• Caffrey's Pub – 717 N. 16th St.
• Camp Bar Wauwatosa – 6600 W. North Ave., Wauwatosa
• Clementine's – 3143 S. Clement Ave.
• Creed's Foggy Dew – 3672 S. Kansas Ave. (Fridays and Saturdays)
• Dale Z's – 3585 S. Howell Ave.
• Fat Daddy's – 120 W. National Ave.
• Gingerz – 3915 S. Howell Ave.
• Izzy Hops – 2311 N. Murray Ave.
• Jack's American Pub – 1323 E. Brady St.
• Jersey's – 4024 S. Howell Ave.
• King Pins Spirits – 4102 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.
• McBob's – 4919 W. North Ave.
• Milwaukee Brat House – 1013 N. 3rd St.
• Murphy's Irish Pub – 1613 W. Wells St.
• The Newport – 939 E. Conway St. (Fridays and Saturdays)
• Oak Barrel – 1033 N. Doctor M.L.K. Jr Dr.
• O'lydia's – 338 S. 1st St.
• Paulies Pub – 8031 W. Greenfield Ave.
• Redbar – 2245 E. St. Francis Ave.
• Shorewood Brat House – 4022 N. Oakland Ave.
• Spirits – 922 Milwaukee Ave.
• Spitfire's – 5018 W. State St.
• Steny's – 800 S. 2nd St.
• Third Street Tavern – 1110 N. Doctor M.L.K. Jr Dr.
• Uncle Buck's On Third – 1125 N. 3rd St.
• WurstBar – 1239 E. Brady St.
• Who's on Third – 1007 N. 3rd St.

For more information on the festival, visit summerfest.com.