KANSAS CITY, Mo. — There are many questions surrounding Kansas City Area Transportation Authority's (KCATA) funding for 2025, so rally goers say they held a proactive rally Wednesday morning before heading inside to KCATA's Board of Commission Meeting.
"The bus offers a lot of people — like me, my children — free and fuller lives," Ashley Ball, a bus rider, said.
Ball is a single mother of four who is currently without a reliable car.
"Without the bus system, I would fail as a mother," she said.
The finances of KCATA — which serves seven counties on both sides of the state line — is uncertain. The 2025 budget is not yet finalized, leaving bus riders and drivers worried about their routes and jobs.
President of Local 1287 Union Nicholas Miller says the union represents over 500 employees at KCATA. He said holding a rally before the budget is approved is more productive than holding it after it's decided.
"Today's about bringing awareness and letting everyone know that, 'Hey, we have to start looking at the other avenues and we have to be able to keep our busses rolling right now,' so we have to have the funding for this," he said at the rally.
The majority of KCATA's funding comes from Kansas City, Missouri. Last year, the city contributed $72 million of the authority's approximately $130 million budget.
KCATA does not receive funding from Jackson County. Jackson County legislator Manny Abarca is interested in seeing how that could change.
“We do need a regional transit system that works functionally well across municipalities, across many taxing jurisdictions and across state lines," Abarca said.
"We appreciate the energy and passion from our ATU Local 1287 employees and other supporters who have gathered today in support of a strong, connected transit system," KCATA said in a statement.
The authority says it does not want to make transit cuts, but it relies on funding it receives from regional contracting partners and those contracts have not been finalized.
The budget was not on the agenda for KCATA's Board of Commission meeting, but public comment was allowed. Several rally-goers attended the meeting.
"Kansas City values open dialogue with the community and takes feedback very seriously," the KCMO said in a statement.
The proposed 2025 budget will be delivered to city council on Feb. 6.
On Jan. 21, the city said it would announce dates and locations for public meetings regarding the budget in the coming days.
KCATA said it would give at least a 60-day notice if service reductions are necessary.
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KSHB 41 reporter Lily O’Shea Becker covers Franklin and Douglas counties in Kansas. Share your story idea with Lily.