The Hop, the new Milwaukee streetcar, provided 76,125 rides in its first month of operation

The $124 million Milwaukee streetcar, known as The Hop, gave 76,125 rides in November, its first month of operation.

The average daily ridership for the month was 2,297 rides, the Hop said in a news release Tuesday. That figure excludes the opening weekend when The Hop gave 16,409 rides.

That's up from the average daily ridership of 2,191 in the first two weeks of operation.

RELATED:Ridership of The Hop, the new Milwaukee streetcar, averaged 2,191 in the first 2 weeks

City officials had estimated average daily ridership would be 1,850 and have been pleased with the initial response to the streetcar.

Rides are free for the first year under a 12-year, $10 million sponsorship by Potawatomi Hotel & Casino.

The Hop runs on a 2.1-mile loop through downtown and the Historic Third Ward between the Milwaukee Intermodal Station, 433 W. St. Paul Ave., and Burns Commons, at East Ogden and North Prospect avenues.

A second leg with service to the lakefront is expected to open in 2020.

Last week, the city learned that it failed to secure federal funding to extend the streetcar lines along N. 4th Street to Fiserv Forum, the new home of the Milwaukee Bucks.

RELATED:Milwaukee streetcar expansion to Fiserv Forum stalled by failing to win federal grant

The city was looking to the federal government to cover half the cost of the $40 million extension from Milwaukee Intermodal Station to Fiserv Forum.