KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For more than three years, bus riders have been riding city buses for free, but that could change.
The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA), the city's public transit agency, says COVID-19 relief money will soon run out and in order to provide quality service, they need additional revenue.
"I think everyone knows that costs are going up, the need for revenue is increasing, as well, so it's an opportunity to generate revenue from those that are using the service, but looking at ways to do that in a fashion that would be equitable," KCATA deputy CEO Richard Jarrold said.
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However, there's mixed reaction among riders who use KCATA buses. Some people who rely on the transportation service daily explained to KSHB 41 News they like the way the bus fare system is.
"I think it's unnecessary because there's a lot of people that ... have a hard time living and coming up with money to ride a bus," Nia Sims-Bradley said.
Other riders are in support of bringing fares back, thinking it could improve the system's service.
"It's not that big of a deal," Curtis Evans said. "They only did it for COVID-19 anyway, so it's not like it was going last a lifetime, so you had to expect it would be back."
In 2019, KCATA had programs in place to help the city's most vulnerable populations and it's something they would be looking to bring back.
"I don't think we're looking at universal comprehensive fares for everyone," Jarrold said. "We used to have programs where certain groups, like veterans or people with low income needs, could get discounts or even zero fare."
The local Kansas City chapter of Sunrise Movement is pushing for bus fares to remain at zero and says the livelihood of some riders could be impacted if they have to budget additional costs.
"Our buses are intended to be something that gives Kansas City greater access to jobs, to healthcare, to groceries, everything like that, and the reality is that zero fare is a critical part of that," said Raymond Forstater, with Sunrise Movement. "Getting rid of zero fares would impede people's access to all those key essential things that they need to get by."
A study has been conducted over the past couple of weeks looking at the impact reintroducing fares would have. The study estimates bringing fares back could generate $5.8 to $7.1 million annually and would cost $2.5 to $5 million to implement. It also predicts ridership would decrease between 17-33%.
The Board of Commissioners will be looking at the study this Wednesday at noon. In addition, KCATA says they're looking at conducting public forums to gain more feedback from riders.
"I think it's important to maintain a really strong transit system, it's important for this community to do that, though, it does require some revenue and some funding," Jerrold said.
