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The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority’s Board of Commissioners voted Wednesday to move forward with a plan that will reduce service frequency and lay off some employees to deal with a budget crunch.
A KCATA spokesperson told KSHB 41 News Thursday the changes will not eliminate routes but buses will run with less frequency.
Bus rider Anthony Cunningham has been advocating for more funding to save the transit routes. He explained he was surprised to see a significant reduction plan moving forward when $46 million from Kansas City council is still on the table.
"Cuts to bus frequencies are service cuts," Cunningham said. "It's what it feels like to be on a bus, your stop is 2 blocks away and your driver suddenly has to come to a stop and you're whiplashed forward and back."
The KCATA stated the $46 million still wouldn't be enough to keep all the buses running, even with the $77.8 million from city council's adopted 2025-2026 budget. The KCATA originally requested $117 million it said was needed to cover expenses.
The spokesperson said the approved changes will require layoffs, but did not provide a specific number, though did say it was less than 170+ employees that were part of an earlier proposal.
"It will have major impacts," Cunningham said. "I will no longer be able to get where I need to go on weekends with only 7 bus routes running."
Commissioners moved forward with shorting the service day from the current 3:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Weekend service will operate at 30-minute headways and be offered only on Main Max, Troost Max, Prospect Max and routes 24, 31, 101 and 201.
During the weekdays, Main Max, Troost Max, Prospect Max and Route 24 would operate in 15 to 20-minute headways from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. The routes would have 30-minute headways at all other times.
All other routes would be reduced to hourly headways.
Paratransit service hours and zones would be reduced to match geographic and service hour changes.
"That basically just means that I got to spend extra money to get to work," bus rider Dave Crisp said.
The changes are tentatively set to take effect on May 4, though the agency says it may need more time to implement the changes.
"I work Saturdays and Sundays," Crisp said. "If they cut the bus routes on the weekend, there will be a lot of people who can't get back and forth to work. People are going to lose jobs. You're going to have problems."
The need to trim services comes after the agency exhausted some existing revenue sources, including funding from regional partners and the sunset of certain COVID-19-era funds.
The City Council is still contemplating an ordinance that would provide $46 million to KCATA, giving the agency additional budget flexibility. Those dollars could also determine the future of IRIS microtransit. The council is set to resume that debate next week.
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