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Kansas City and the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority finalized a contract last week after months of fraught negotiations, avoiding a possible shutdown of bus service. But the contract brings back fares for most riders.

Kansas City hoped the downtown space would be one of the primary "focal points" during World Cup festivities next June, but the project won't be ready in time. Kansas City Manager Mario Vasquez joined KCUR's Up To Date to discuss how preparations are going, the new bus contract between the city and the KCATA, and more.

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 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.

Mayor Quinton Lucas says that Kansas City "doesn't necessarily have legal responsibility to inspect and guarantee" the safety of buildings after initial permits are approved. But he now wonders if the city can do more to prevent events like the deadly collapse of the Family Dollar on Broadway Boulevard last month.

McCloskey and his wife Patricia had been forced to surrender the rifle and a second firearm after pleading guilty to misdemeanors for pointing the guns at George Floyd protesters in 2020.

Kansas City and the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority haven’t been able to agree on a contract since May. Unless they agree on one soon, the city’s bus service could be at risk.

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.

Kansas City's options for dazzling, and free, fireworks shows on July 4 include the Stars and Stripes Picnic at the National World War I Museum and Memorial. But you'll find even more festivities throughout the metro, and across the whole holiday weekend.

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.