KANSAS CITY, Mo — Over 100 people took part in a virtual meeting Friday held by the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority.
This was the second public meeting since news broke about potential cuts in bus service.
It comes a day after KSHB 41 heard from frustrated riders.
"The plea is this, 'We really need to try to do something with our existing transit.' That's the bottom line why I came down here," one rider said. "I don't want any bus eliminated or any bus drivers losing their jobs."
A timeline of events on what to expect in the coming weeks was released at Friday's meeting.
March 20: The proposed 2025-26 budget for Kansas City, Mo., will have a first reading at the council meeting. KCATA leaders say if a budget of $71 million for the agency is approved, that would leave the agency millions of dollars short of what it needs to operate at its current level.
March 27: The KCMO City Council will adopt its 2025-26 budget.
April 23: The KCATA Board of Commissioners will approve budget and service changes. The changes would be announced on April 24.
The changes would take effect on Sunday, May 4.
“So, we have an effective service date when our contract would be finalized with Kansas City, Missouri, which would be May 1,” said AJ Farris with KCTA. “We do any service changes starting on a Sunday. So, that’s why if any service changes are needed to help us match with the community budget, that’s when that service change would go into effect.”
In addition to cutting IRIS service, and the possibility of charging a fare, the KCATA says they also are actively looking for funding from other areas, including the Missouri Department of Transportation and the Kansas Department of Transportation.
“To find additional funding to really limit the amount of reductions or hopefully not have to have any reductions,” Farris said.
The agency says they will utilize all avenues to get the word out on any changes, including posting paper bulletins on the bus routes, something they haven’t doesn’t since the COVID-19 pandemic.
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