The World Cup is just seven months away, and the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority faces the immense challenge of moving hundreds of thousands of fans around Kansas City next summer.
Now, the transit agency has decided to crack open its piggy bank.
Takeaways
- The KCATA is asking to repurpose a grant it received in 2018 to buy energy efficient buses. Instead, it will be spent to bolster operations during the World Cup.
- This decision comes after lobbying the federal government and state governments for years, asking for financial support for World Cup buses. As of November, the KCATA has not received any grant funding for bus operations during the World Cup.
- Kansas City is nervous about getting tens of thousands of people to and from the fan festival in particular. But transit advocates remain hopeful that the World Cup could be the first time some Kansas City residents ever take the bus — which could help build the case for a regional transit sales tax in the future.
For years, transit leaders have asked Kansas, Missouri and the federal government for financial support during the World Cup to manage massive crowds of fans who will travel to the region without cars.
But they have not received a dime for World Cup bus service. So the KCATA is planning to raid millions of dollars from a federal grant from 2018 intended to buy new buses. Instead, that money will be spent on 40 days of expanded service for fans and tourists…