Kansas City bus riders will see a temporary boost in service during the World Cup. But by the end of summer, the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority will cut more than one-fourth of its weekday routes.
The KCATA approved its 2026-27 contract with the city of Kansas City, Missouri, at a special board meeting Thursday. The contract provides more than $85 million for the transportation agency, which is a funding increase from recent years and includes $1.8 million for the city’s rideshare service, IRIS. But with a nationwide trend of higher transportation costs and a lack of regional funding, officials said that’s not enough to prevent cuts.
These cuts will bring the KCATA to the fewest bus routes it’s had in decades. Tyler Means, chief mobility and strategy officer, said the agency worked to cut duplicate routes first, and then those that had lower ridership…