Kansas City says that ridership of the new streetcar has far surpassed their expectations and some are already clamoring for a route expansion.
The street car has seen roughly 6,000 riders everyday since it opened to the public on May 6, according to the city.
"We are going to hit the 100,000th rider in the first two weeks of operations," said Kansas City, Missouri spokesman Chris Hernandez.
Some streetcar advocates would like to see an expansion southward towards the plaza and the University of Missouri--Kansas City.
Voters turned down the opportunity to fund an expansion to the proposed streetcar route in August 2014.
Mayor Sly James thinks it's time for people to reconsider.
"I also think we can go forward with expansion in the near future because whatever we do today isn't going to be happening overnight," said Mayor Sly James. "Expansion of the streetcar will take six or seven years before its completed and there's no reason to wait 20 years down the road.
There's been no official announcement of any expansion. For any word to come from the city, they made it clear any expansion would also need clear plans for economic development.
"We've been saying let's get this built, let's show them how it works and then think about the future after that," said Hernandez.
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Josh Helmuth can be reached at josh.helmuth@kshb.com
