By bus
By bus
Milwaukee has a competitive bus market. The city is served by seven interstate bus lines daily. Book a few weeks ahead online for the best prices. Most buses stop at or across the street from the Milwaukee Intermodal Station where all trains stop as well on St Paul Street on the south edge of Downtown Milwaukee. Chartered tours of Milwaukee are also arranged from cities in the region, and there are casino charters from across the Midwest.
Badger Coaches
Operates six scheduled services from Madison daily and 4x weekly from Minneapolis, with a few local stops in between.
Greyhound
Greyhound makes additional stops on request at 84 and O'Connor, Milwaukee Mitchell Airport, and some suburban locations. Greyhound mostly operates "Express" branded services to Milwaukee, featuring wifi, extra legroom, and 110v outlets. Tickets from $1 online. 11 of 15 daily buses from Chicago offer "Express" amenities.
Indian Trails
Daily service from Milwaukee to Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Onward connections are available. Buses have wifi and power outlets.
Jefferson Lines
Operates daytime scheduled service between Milwaukee and Minneapolis via Green Bay, with interim stops across Wisconsin. Jefferson prides itself on its 'eco-friendly' new coaches. Connections are available at Minneapolis.
Lamers
Operates daytime scheduled service between Milwaukee and Wausau, with interim stops across Wisconsin. Also stops at the Badger Bus Depot and at the airport.
Megabus
Megabus offers four times daily round trip service to Chicago and Minneapolis. Buses have wifi and often 110v power outlets. No walk-up tickets sold, only via internet or phone, same-day prices vary.
Wisconsin Coach
Wisconsin Coach offers 14 buses daily, departing every hour to O'Hare Airport starting at around 4AM. There are several pickup points including the Intermodal Station, 4960 S 13th St, and Mitchell Airport.
By bus
A summary of bus fares, frequencies and services including the lowest internet fare, the walk-up ticket price and how often the buses run:
| Chicago lowest | Chicago walkup | Chicago frequency | Minneapolis lowest | Minneapolis walkup | Minneapolis frequency | wifi | 110v outlets | |
| Amtrak² | $23 | $23 | 7x day | $40 | $52-$68 | 1x day | No | Yes |
| Badger | $45 | $53 | 4x week | Some | Some | |||
| Greyhound | $1 | $16 | 15x day 11 Express | $1 | $61 | 6x day 3 Express | Most | Most |
| Ind. Trails | Yes | Yes | ||||||
| Jefferson | $34 | $53 | 2x day | Some | Some | |||
| Megabus | $1 | $20³ | 4x day | $1 | $52³ | 4x day | Yes | Yes |
| Wisconsin | $26 | $26 | 14x day | No | No |
²Train. AAA, ISIC, SA, Senior walk-up discounts: Chicago $18, Minneapolis from $44.³Tickets must be purchased via internet or telephone$3 fee.
There is an array of almost every transportation mode thinkable to get to Milwaukee. The cheapest way is by bus, but many travelers prefer the comfort and convenience of air, boat, car, or train travel. Chicago, a masive transportation hub, is less than 100 miles 161 km away.
By ship
The Lake Express (http://www.lake-express.com) is a modern high speed ferry that operates several daily trips across Lake Michigan to Muskegon, MI. The ferry docks on the south side of the port near Bayview. No winter service.
By train
Amtrak (http://www.amtrak.com) serves downtown and an airport station. The newly remodeled Milwaukee Intermodal station offers connectivity to inter-city bus services and is located downtown a short distance from many attractions and hotels.
The Hiawatha (http://www.amtrakhiawatha.com/) has 7 daily round trips to Chicago. It offers the quickest travel time to Chicago, power outlets at your seat, a quiet car, and snack & beverage service. It runs between Milwaukee Downtown Intermodal Station, stops at Milwaukee Mitchell Airport, SturtevantRacine WI, Glenview IL, and arrives downtown Chicago Union Station. $23.
The Empire Builder (http://www.amtrak.com/ser...) has 1 daily round trip from Chicago through Milwaukee to Seattle/Portland, via Central Wisconsin, Minneapolis, Fargo, Spokane and many other smaller cities. The Empire Builder only stops at the Milwaukee Intermodal Station. Passengers wishing to reach Mitchell Airport must change trains to the Hiawatha at Milwaukee Intermodal Station. 'Weekly Special' Internet fares can be found for $120 to Portland and $40 from the Twin Cities.
By car
I-94 comes in from Madison to the west, and continues to Chicago to the south.
I-43 will get you to the city from Green Bay from the north, and continues south-west to Rockford.