Kansas City Area Transportation Authority

The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority will begin charging fares again next month. When it does, United Way will connect with area nonprofits to provide free and reduced fares.

After the World Cup, Kansas Citians relying on public transportation will find it even harder to catch a ride to work. Inadequate regional funding is forcing the KCATA to slash routes in September.

The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority will cut more than one-fourth of its weekday Kansas City routes and change hours on many others later this summer. Officials say they need more regional funding to bring routes back.

Only one bus route currently drops off at MCI's terminal, but the World Cup's pop-up transit route will change that — temporarily.

Kansas City's proposed budget for next year doesn't include any increase in funding for its transit agency. Without more money, the agency warned it may need to cut nearly a third of its routes.

En junio, la Agencia de Transporte del Área de Kansas City (KCATA) comenzará a cobrar nuevamente por viajar en autobús. Prometió que los pasajes gratuitos continuarán para algunas personas, pero aún no ha publicado un plan para ellas. Los proveedores sin fines de lucro y los pasajeros están preocupados de que, mientras tanto, algunas personas se queden sin cobertura.

The money will help Kansas City pay for police overtime, buy more cruisers and put ambassadors on public transit ahead of this summer's World Cup. Kansas City will host six matches, and the metro will be the base camp for four teams.

The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority will charge for bus rides starting in June. The $2 fare can be paid through an app, credit or debit card, or reloadable fare cards.

Around 80% of bus stops across the metro do not have somewhere for riders to sit. Even fewer have a shelter. An interactive map from KCUR shows where to find amenities at each bus stop in the metro, and what the area transit agencies are doing to add more.

The city is giving the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority an additional $13 million as part of a contract agreed on in August. But the KCATA still plans to cut two bus lines and limit hours on more than a dozen others.

Frank White III has led the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority since 2022. The KCATA board decided to not renew his contract amid high tensions between the agency and Kansas City, and a looming fiscal cliff that has threatened service cuts multiple times this year.

Johnson County commissioners unanimously approved the county's first ever strategic plan for bus, micro transit and paratransit services. It recommends focusing on increasing frequency of buses along a few key routes, reinstating bus fares and rebranding as "Ride JoCo."