kcata

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 Kansas City Area Transportation Authority promised free bus rides for those who need it, as it brings back fares this June. But riders and nonprofits are still waiting to see how that will work. Plus: Missouri cattle farmers who contract red meat allergies from alpha-gal syndrome are suddenly put at risk by their livelihood.

The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority will start charging people to ride the bus again in June. It promised free fares would continue for some people, but it hasn’t released a plan for them. Nonprofit providers and riders are concerned that people will fall through the cracks in the meantime.

Constant fights over bus funding have meant service cuts and long wait times for riders. Now, dozens of riders are launching a union, and they hope others join to make service better for everyone.

At his State of the City address, Mayor Quinton Lucas detailed his priorities for the end of his term and previewed the city’s budget for the next fiscal year, which will see cuts or stagnation in most departments but a major increase in police funding.

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.

The Kansas City metro is under a winter storm warning. It's expected to see snow and bitterly cold temperatures starting Friday evening, which will affect city services and people’s ability to drive. Missouri's governor has issued a state of emergency.

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.

2025 brought a lot of grief for governments in Kansas City, Missouri, and Jackson County: the expensive departure of the city's highest-paid official, a property tax scandal that left the county's top lawmaker rebuked, and the Chiefs' planned move to Kansas. But there's something to look forward to, too: the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

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.