Kansas City’s more than 12 million annual bus riders will have to start paying bus fares again, after six years of free rides. Starting in June, riders will have to pay $2 per trip.
The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority board on Wednesday approved the plan to implement fares. AJ Farris, the director of planning and scheduling at the KCATA, said during the meeting that the $2 price point was set based on months of studies.
“This was decided to be the appropriate amount to collect the revenue that we needed from a budget standpoint, while not having too large of a burden on our ridership and decreasing our ridership too much,” Farris said.
In 2020, Kansas City was the first major metro to eliminate fares. Since then, other cities, including Alexandria, Virginia, and Olympia, Washington, have come on board. In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani won his race on affordability promises like free bus fares. A study from the University of Kansas found that the KCATA’s free fares attracted new riders and increased overall use of the system.
But Kansas City’s free bus fares have been controversial for almost as long. The city and the KCATA have struggled with who should pay for free fares and how to support the zero-fare model since the policy was implemented.
The agency used COVID relief funds to subsidize free fares, and the city also allocated some funds to support the program. But the one-time infusion of COVID money began running out, and the KCATA began studying bringing back fares in 2023. In 2024, the Kansas City Council kept bus rides free for another year in its contract with the bus agency.
Ultimately, the zero-fare model was a casualty of the city council and KCATA’s heated budget disputes last year, which threatened major bus cuts. Here’s what you need to know about what will happen with fares:
How much will it cost to ride the bus?
A single bus ride will cost $2. There are no transfer passes like there were in 2019, so riders will have to pay each time they board the bus. A day pass will cost $4, while a weekly pass will cost $20 and a monthly pass $62.50.
The $2 fare is the rate that the Kansas City Council demanded KCATA charge during contract negotiations last year.
Those costs are about the same as fare prices in 2019, when adjusted for inflation. And the KCATA said fares will be capped, so riders won’t have to pay more in a time period than they would for a daily, weekly or monthly pass.
Reduced-rate passes are also available, though it’s not clear exactly who will qualify. In 2019, adults 65 and older, children aged 12-18 and people with disabilities got half-off fares. The agency said it plans something similar for its new reduced-rate program.
Reduced fares will be provided to the elderly, people with disabilities and those with Medicare as a condition of federal funding.
When will bus fares come back?
The KCATA plans to have the new fare system in place by June, just before the World Cup begins in Kansas City on June 16.
By June 1, riders will be able to use the Mobile Link app to pay from their account or tap their debit or credit card to pay. Riders who receive reduced fares will be able to use the app to purchase tickets or use pre-programmed tickets that will be offered by KCATA during the first phase of fare reintroduction.
During the initial launch, riders can buy pre-programmed, limited-use tickets at some KCATA locations. Riders who need to pay cash or don’t have a smart phone can purchase tickets via a smart card.
During the second phase of fare reintroduction, riders will be able to buy fare cards at some retail locations such as libraries, grocery stores and pharmacies. Riders who pay cash will also be able to load money onto a smart card at the retail partners.
The KCATA does not yet have a date planned for the second phase of the fare rollout.
Will anyone get free fares?
Amid the oftentimes heated battle for KCATA funding last year, Mayor Quinton Lucas and KCATA officials alike promised what they call “functionally free fare.” The program was pitched for low-income residents and people receiving aid from social service agencies to ride for free.
In 2019, veterans and students rode the bus for free through a sponsorship program. But no details have been released about what a new functionally free fare program would look like.
How can you pay the fare?
Unlike in 2019, riders cannot use cash to pay fares. Instead, riders can use a mobile app to purchase fares and scan a QR code at the validator, tap their debit or credit card for pay-as-you-go fares, or pay with a reloadable, contactless smart card with pre-purchased passes.
How much will the KCATA make from fares?
The KCATA estimates that charging fares for the last half of the year will bring in more than $5 million, or more than $10 annually.
That’s not enough to fix the budget cliff that the agency’s been facing for years. Operating expenses are expected to cost $95 million this year, and the KCATA was short tens of millions of dollars when it faced its first budget shortfall and possible route cuts in March of last year.
