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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.

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.

Toll boxes may soon be revamped on all RideKC buses if the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority reinstates fares to address a multi-million-dollar budget shortage. That would especially hurt the low-income residents who rely on free buses most, and could lead to a drop in ridership.

In Missouri, just under 25% of its Head Start centers are within a walkable distance from a public transit spot — making the early childhood program less accessible to families without reliable transportation.

A majority of Johnson County commissioners recently indicated they were willing to at least temporarily add fares, cut routes and make adjustments in other services while they do a deep dive into how to provide a good transit system for county riders without breaking the bank.

As Kansas City gears up for the 2026 World Cup, some residents are concerned that the metro’s public transit system can’t keep up with a rapidly growing city. KCATA CEO Frank White III speaks about how the transportation authority is preparing.

The KCATA says Kansas City, Missouri, residents will no longer subsidize the costs to run buses through the surrounding suburbs. That's meant a dramatic increase in costs to individual cities — pushing many municipalities like Gladstone and Liberty to cancel their bus service entirely.

A main criticism of Kansas City's various tax incentive programs is that developers are able to shop around agencies for a deal. That appeared to be the case when a Waldo housing development applied for tax incentives from the Port Authority after being rejected for incentives by the Ride KC Development Corp.

The city’s new on-demand transit service, IRIS, will now serve riders across the entire metro — with the intention of filling in the gaps of existing bus routes. The expansion is happening at the same time that KCATA hikes the cost of providing bus service to surrounding municipalities, causing concerns about accessibility.

Kansas City's transit agency put an end to RideKCDC, the development nonprofit it used to give tax incentives to some controversial projects. Now, the transit agency will directly oversee transit-oriented development, which it says will make the process "better, stronger, faster."

Michael Graham, the former chief financial officer of Kansas City's transit agency, filed a lawsuit alleging that he was pushed out after sounding the alarm about the organization's finances.

KCATA's development arm aims to create walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods with easy access to public transit. But some Kansas City leaders are concerned about the agency's use of tax incentives — and lack of affordable housing requirements.