The World Cup will bring a temporary surge in public transportation to Kansas City, but once the event dies down, the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) will cut bus routes that local residents rely on every day to get to work, grocery stores and appointments.
Starting Sept. 6, 2026, almost 10% of bus riders will need to find a new route to get around after the city removes seven weekday routes and two weekend routes.
KCUR reporter Savannah Hawley-Bates said KCATA is in a “death spiral,” where reduced services causes lower funding — which slows service further and creates a cycle of decline.
Bus service nationwide has become more expensive since the COVID pandemic, and inflation has pushed costs even higher while federal funding sources dry up. These pressures have caused KCATA to cut routes despite Kansas City adding more money for public transit. A central issue is that Kansas City still provides the bulk of KCATA funding through its general fund, with declining help from surrounding cities and towns served by the agency.
“A stable, regional funding system, where it's not up to the municipalities to fund the service, but instead goes countywide, like a sales tax, or other level funding that doesn't come out of operating budgets, is really the only way to fix this bus system,” Hawley-Bates told KCUR’s Up to Date.
The weekday service cuts are:
- 9, Ninth Street
- 21, Cleveland Antioch
- 23, 23rd Street
- 25, Troost Local
- 27, 27th Street
- 57, Wornall
- 71, Prospect Local
The weekend service cuts are:
- 12, 12th Street
- 210, Front Street
- Savannah Hawley-Bates, KCUR's local government and politics reporter
