public transit

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.

The Kansas City Council passed a $2.5 billion budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, its largest ever. The police department will get even more money than before, while council members will discuss a proposal next week to fully fund the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority in the short term.

The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority's proposal to cut bus routes would also defund IRIS, a rideshare service intended to fill the city’s transportation gaps. For people without cars, that would take away most public transit options.

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.

One of the measures, Senate Bill 74, would bar cities and counties from imposing their own open carry firearm restrictions. Another includes a provision that someone who kills another person with a gun in self-defense would be presumed to be acting reasonably, removing the burden of proof.

Monday marked the third protest in just one week from Kansas City-area climate activists, who demand that Jackson County step up to fund the KCATA. One protester was detained and more than 50 activists were removed from the legislature's chambers.

A patchwork of counties and cities huddled around the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri rivers makes it harder to develop affordable, efficient public transit in the Kansas City region. Transit funding decisions get handled within each jurisdiction, with little or no coordination between them, and the KCATA has no power to levy taxes.

The Kansas-Missouri border splits Kansas City, and divides the metro region more evenly, and sometimes problematically, than any American metro region cut in two by a state line.

Johnson County's transit service sees about 379,000 riders a year on fixed routes, compared to 32,800 microtransit riders and 84,100 paratransit riders. County commissioners are considering adjusting fares and services to attract more riders.

A 2020 Census survey found that 2.4% of potential voters didn’t cast a ballot because they couldn’t get to the polls. To address this problem, a number of local organizations are offering free or discounted rides for this Tuesday’s election.

The Kansas City Current used their new riverfront stadium to encourage fans to take transit, bike or walk to games instead of driving. The city’s infrastructure still hasn’t caught up, though. Plus: The Lawrence Busker Festival features magicians, jugglers, clowns and contortionists, but this year local musicians are taking the spotlight.

The Current’s new riverfront stadium was meant to encourage fans to take transit, bike or walk to games instead of driving. But Kansas City still hasn’t caught up — and it’s left the team and other entertainment venues to fill in the gaps.