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RideKC Navigator App | 'Operation Santa' Goes Virtual

By Steve Kraske,
Mackenzie Martin, Chris Young
Published December 16, 2020 at 2:15 PM CST
Frank Morris
/
KCUR 89.3
The RideKC Navigator app debuted on the Prospect Avenue Max bus route. KCATA CEO Robbie Makinen hopes to extend it to all bus routes in the Kansas City area.

The Kansas City Area Transit Authority is launching a new app for visually-impaired and blind commuters, and the United States Postal Service's 'Operation Santa' goes virtual this year.

Segment 1, beginning at 5:06: RideKC Navigator gives people location-specific audio instructions to help navigate bus stops and intersections in Kansas City.

"Public transit is about access," said Transit Authority President Mackinen. The app was developed in partnership with Alphapointe and Sensible Innovations.

Segment 2, beginning at 28:54: For over a century, the United State's Postal Service has delivered children's letters to Santa Claus.

This year, 'Operation Santa' has gone virtual. One filmmaker catalogs this massive undertaking in the documentary 'Dear Santa', offering an inside look at the volunteers and workers making Christmas special for countless kids.

  • Dana Nachman, film maker, director of 'Dear Santa'
  • Mark Inglett, strategic communications specialist, Postal Service
Tags
Up To Date Talk Showkcatapublic transitKansas City Missouri (KCMO)blindnessvisiondisabilitiesbusappsChristmasUSPSFilmdocumentary
Steve Kraske
When I host Up To Date each morning at 9, my aim is to engage the community in conversations about the Kansas City area’s challenges, hopes and opportunities. I try to ask the questions that listeners want answered about the day’s most pressing issues and provide a place for residents to engage directly with newsmakers. Reach me at steve@kcur.org or on Twitter @stevekraske.
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Mackenzie Martin
Whether it’s something happening right now or something that happened 100 years ago, some stories don’t fit in the short few minutes of a newscast. As a podcast producer and reporter at KCUR Studios, I help investigate questions and local curiosities in a way that brings listeners along for adventures with plot twists and thought-provoking ideas. Sometimes there isn’t an easy answer in the end – but my hope is that we all leave with a greater understanding of the city we live in. Reach me at mackenzie@kcur.org.
See stories by Mackenzie Martin
Chris Young
Chris Young is an Assistant Producer for KCUR’s Up To Date. Contact him at chrisy@kcur.org.
See stories by Chris Young