KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne covers issues surrounding government accountability and solutions. Share your story with Isabella.
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The Kansas City, Missouri, City Council passed a $46.7 million measure to help fund the Kansas City Area Transit Authority (KCATA).
The money will delay drastic cuts to bus service for the next six months.
The $46.7 million going to the KCATA has some bus riders feeling relieved they know their routes will remain for the next six months. But the Kansas City Council added additional accountability measures that come with the money.
KCATA is getting approximately $124 million from the council. That includes $78 million from the 2025-2026 adopted budget and $46.7 million from the ordinance approved Thursday.
Riders can expect all routes to stay the same and in place, even on the weekends. But wait times are expected to be longer with decreased frequency and shorter service times.
The KCATA will be running its buses for 18 hours a day instead of the current 21.5 hours each day.
Fares will return, most likely costing a few dollars a ride.
"[The fares] will be akin to how other communities used to stand pre-COVID," KCATA Chairman of the Board Reginald Townsend said.
The $46 million funding ordinance gives the KCATA six months to come up with a long-term solution.
But council had a frank discussion before the money was approved.
"I think this council is just trying to figure out how we do have some real accountability in terms of giving out directives to the KCATA and have them respect what we're asking," 3rd District At-Large Councilwoman Melissa Patterson Hazley said.
The transit authority has to give presentations every two months on how they're spending the money and provide evidence the system is running efficiently.
"We are fully prepared to fund the bus system, we have that money," Patterson Hazley said. "I think we want to know that we're funding what's actually taking place."
Townsend explained the accountability is expected.
"Kansas City City Council and the mayor are rightly so questioning and asking for a more efficient, effective and collaborative community conversation," Townsend said. "The reality is that a $30 million change to run the regional system is not a responsibility of Kansas City."
The KCATA is focusing on regional contracts, including having Independence and Gladstone pitch in for transit services, too.
"Budgets have strained and costs have been too cumbersome for certain communities," Townsend said. "Contracts have waned and so here we are with limited contracts but yet we still have the overhead [costs] that exists, which is why we're having to do some of the hard things and make hard decisions."
But coming up with a regional solution may take more time than KC's deadline of six months.
"It's not realistic to have a solution in six months because the solution is to have a more regional funding model," Townsend said.
The president of the Amalgamated Transit Union 1287 explained the constant extensions have been frustrating and hard on drivers.
"They have been kicking the can down the road for years," Nicholas Miller said. "There are a lot of operators that are really worried about their jobs right now, wondering if they're going to be laid off."
But riders are relieved their months of calling on city leaders to keep bus service has paid off, even if it's in the short term.
"[The $46 million] is a good thing, and it wouldn't have happened without the pressure," Raymond Forstater said. "It still seems pretty unclear on what the [long-term] looks like, and there should be a plan that comes back for what that looks like."
Route frequency changes and hours reductions are expected to happen within the next 30-60 days, but the KCATA and city leaders will be working on what the new fare system will look like. It's unclear when that will be going into effect.
