The Northland is one of the fastest-growing parts of Kansas City. But most of the neighborhoods in the north part of Kansas City don’t have access to a bus route. And those that do are few and far between.
It’s the same in south Kansas City, where the bus lines get more sparse the farther south you go.
Kansas City is long. With about 320 square miles, suburban areas inside the city limits aren’t able to easily get around with public transit. Bus service in these areas more closely resembles that in neighboring suburbs: slow and difficult to use.
The lack of frequent public transportation in south Kansas City and the Northland isolates these areas from the more central parts of the city. That can make it harder to get to work, medical appointments, school and entertainment.
Budget issues with the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority and conflict between the agency and the city mean it’ll be a while before the outlying parts of the city get better bus service.
Kansas City Council member Lindsay French represents parts of the Northland, which only has five bus lines. She’s worried that the area won’t be able to sustain the growth it's had in the past few years if people don’t have the transit they want and need.
“We really don't have adequate transportation in the Northland, and we haven't for quite some time,” French said. “The perception is that the Northland doesn't want transit, or doesn't need as much transit as the inner core of the city. The actual reality of that is different.”
French wants to see more strategic planning to increase bus routes and frequency in the northern suburbs of the city. But before that, she said more cooperation between the city and the KCATA is necessary.
Most of the bus lines that go through south Kansas City were on the chopping block in March when the KCATA was facing a critical funding shortfall. Kansas City introduced a funding plan to avoid those cuts, and increased the amount it had budgeted for the KCATA to nearly $78 million. But the agency said that’s not enough, and that it needs about $93 million to keep service the same.
Council member Johnathan Duncan represents parts of south Kansas City, including Martin City. The 57 line — the only bus line that reaches Martin City — was on the chopping block and still could be if KCATA’s looming fiscal cliff isn’t addressed before the fall.
Duncan said the city council has been “shaking the couch cushions” to find any possible extra funding for the KCATA. But if the agency doesn’t get the $93 million it said it needs and cuts are made, “you might as well make Martin City an island.”
“Martin City, in that area in south Kansas City, is some of the last remaining affordable housing for 6th District residents,” Duncan said. “We talk about affordable housing a lot, but a house can be a prison if you don't have adequate public transit to get around.”
Duncan, like many of his colleagues, wants better bus service in Kansas City. But long-running tensions between the KCATA and elected officials have kept that from happening. He said it’s hard to increase funding to an agency that can’t be trusted.
Frank White III, CEO of the KCATA, said the agency is working to improve trust with Kansas City and other municipalities around the metro. But he said he wants local leaders to approach the KCATA with the same trust the agency is trying to extend.
White said the agency is doing things differently under his leadership, and he wants people to stop assuming the worst.
“I'm an open book,” White said. “You know where to find me, I’ll answer any questions you have. But at the same time, those questions have to be asked in good faith. Only then can you have that trust to move forward. But it can't be one-sided.”
Working toward a regional solution
Besides buses, the only public transportation in these neighborhoods is the city’s rideshare program, IRIS. City staff earlier this year recommended gutting IRIS to save money for bus routes. After pushback, the city reversed course and continued its funding.
French said IRIS, and microtransit in general, is a “Band-Aid fix” transit option. But adding new bus routes will be next to impossible with the budget shortfalls KCATA is facing. Keeping the rideshare service is the only way to fill in the gaps.
French said she’ll continue to fight for a city microtransit option to continue until a more long-term solution is possible.
“(New routes are) a possibility,” French said. “That is why I'm advocating and fighting for transit in the Northland. The reality of that, though — the budget that we have and what we are working with, with the KCATA right now — I don't see that as a reality. That is why I am standing so strong on even having the IRIS option.”
Many of the suburbs in the region, which pay for bus service from their general funds, have pulled their funding from KCATA due to rising costs. Kansas City, which funds bus service through two taxes, is now paying for most of the KCATA’s overhead costs.
That’s caused what experts call a “transit death spiral,” where insufficient funding leads to service cuts that reduce ridership. That part has already happened. The next step in the death spiral is continued revenue loss that turns into even more service cuts.
To stop the death spiral, more regional funding is needed for the KCATA. The MidAmerica Regional Council’s Connected KC 2050 plan calls for more regional funding. MARC has been gathering local leaders to discuss how to achieve that goal.
Stable regional funding could look like countywide sales taxes for transit across the metro, like the 3/8th-cent sales tax Kansas City currently has. The Kansas City Regional Transit Alliance is one group that supports a regional sales tax and is pushing for the metro’s counties to get on board.
Part of Kansas City’s six-month funding plan for the agency includes a requirement for KCATA to get more buy-in from suburbs that have ended their bus service and make a plan to improve transit across the entire area.
Mayor Pro Tem Ryana Parks-Shaw said she’s optimistic things will improve.
Parks-Shaw represents communities in southern and far eastern Kansas City. There are not many transit lines in those portions of the city, but Parks-Shaw said she hopes that will begin to change. She put together a grant with KCATA to create transit-oriented development in that area, which was recently funded.
The KCATA is also planning a regional summit in October to discuss the future of transit and funding with area leaders. Parks-Shaw said she hopes this means things will improve for the entire metro, especially the portions of Kansas City that are transit deserts.
“If we work together collaboratively, I believe that we could come up with a solution that will work for us, all of us, long term,” Parks-Shaw said. “I think they're (the KCATA) putting a lot of effort into trying to be innovative and come up with the resources to do something different.”
