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Kansas City and the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority finalized a contract today, after months of fraught negotiations. The city’s bus service will continue without any cuts, but $2 fares will be reinstated.

Much of south Kansas City, Missouri, and its neighborhoods north of the Missouri River are transit deserts. City council members who represent those areas are focused on improving transit. But without more regional funding, it’ll be a struggle just to keep the few bus lines that already exist.

Bridgette Williams, who represents Wyandotte County on the KCATA Board of Commissioners, remains hopeful that a deal will be made soon with Kansas City, Missouri. The transit agency needs a contract soon to secure funding and prevent bus service cuts.

RideKC buses are each already equipped with four interior and four exterior cameras. New AI-powered cameras are being installed to detect possible security threats and automatically alert authorities.

In recent years, most Kansas City suburbs have cut transportation funding, which means fewer and slower buses. Local officials are racing to fix that. Plus: High school graduation rates in Kansas are higher than ever. But some people worry that the growth of credit recovery programs could be lowering standards for students.

Most Kansas City suburbs have stopped their transit funding in recent years, ending many of the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority’s suburban bus routes. Experts say that’s put the area into a transit death spiral.

Hotel rooms, buses, and liquor laws are just a few of the problems that Kansas City will need to figure out in the next year, before the first World Cup games kick off at Arrowhead Stadium next June.

The ordinance passed by Kansas City Council this week, meant to prevent drastic service cuts and increase oversight, would bring back fares and could end the city’s rideshare service. But KCATA said service reductions are still necessary.

The six-month plan would fully fund the transit agency while it seeks funding from other places and demands more accountability from KCATA. It calls for reinstating fares and could end the city’s rideshare service IRIS, which was meant to fill transit gaps.

Public transportation users fear that Kansas City's proposed budget plans would lead to KCATA eliminating routes and slowing service, and create a negative spiral effect for bus funding and usage.

The drastic service cuts proposed by the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority to fill a budget hole mean remaining routes will run less frequently and likely get more crowded. Riders and drivers hope it won't come to that.

The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority plans to cut nearly half its bus routes, drastically reduce weekend service, and lay off 171 workers, according to documents obtained by KCUR. What will this mean for the Kansas Citians who rely on public transit to get around?