public transit

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.

Nearly 10% of Kansas City bus riders will lose access to key routes starting Sept. 6, as KCATA cuts seven weekday lines and two weekend routes. Officials say funding challenges have pushed the system into a “death spiral” of declining service.

After years of construction, the Kansas City Streetcar Authority’s Riverfront extension is now open. The 0.7-mile extension takes the streetcar from its previous northern terminus of the River Market to the Berkley Riverfront.

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.

Amtrak officials say some trips this summer are expected to sell out, so riders should book their seats early.

Hotel industry leaders worry that the World Cup's promised "hotel boom" is failing to materialize, while advocacy groups issued a travel advisory warning international visitors of likely civil rights violations by the Trump administration. But so far, Kansas City officials are sticking by their ambitious estimates.

Connecting River Market with the Berkley Riverfront, the 0.7-mile extension will start service on May 18 after two years of construction.

It's not just Kansas City's airport that expects to see an influx of visitors for this summer's World Cup. St. Louis also expects to field travelers, who will then need to trek across the state by car, Amtrak or bus.

For World Cup ticket holders, Kansas City will run $15 shuttles to the stadium on game days. That’s significantly cheaper than the $100 buses and trains in East Coast host cities. A new bus route between downtown and the airport will remain free.

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 recently passed a $2.6 billion spending plan that keeps expenses relatively flat. But, some departments like police are still seeing growth, despite some opposition. We'll break down the city's spending and why you should care about it.

Kansas City International Airport is preparing for what could be the busiest time in its history during the summer World Cup games. One large task will be translating airport signs into the languages spoken by visiting national teams and their fans.