KCATA Releases Plan To Improve Efficiency Of Bus Routes, Control Costs

Posted on: Sep 08, 2011

(Kansas City, Mo. – Sept. 8, 2011) The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) has released a draft plan to redesign transit service in Kansas City, Mo., in order to provide the most efficient service while holding the line on costs. Route changes for more than 50 routes serving Kansas City, Mo., are planned for phased implementation beginning in 2012. These proposed changes are a result of an extensive Comprehensive Service Analysis (CSA), which began in 2010. During the CSA process, KCATA and Nelson Nygaard have studied the current market conditions and asked transit customers about their preferences for transit service. “KCATA has experienced high levels of customer satisfaction with our current ridership, but we wanted to find ways to offer even better service with our existing level of resources,” said KCATA General Manager Mark Huffer. “The findings of the CSA will help us make transit easier to use, easier to understand, more convenient, faster, and more direct. We also expect the resulting changes will improve our efficiency and productivity.” KCATA has published details about the potential route changes on their website. Changes range from increasing the area of service to reducing frequency to eliminating certain routes. The changes to Metro routes are intended to support a network of key corridors that form the foundation of The Metro system. New schedules will be designed to improve reliability, provide more direct service and better match demand. One of the goals of the CSA is to make riding transit more attractive by designing service that is more intuitive and rider-friendly. Over the next several months KCATA will engage in an extensive public comment process on the proposed changes. Public input will help shape and refine the final recommendations prior to implementation. KCATA is receiving public comment about the proposed changes several ways: KCATA has also published on their website several other documents related to the CSA: a market analysis of the Kansas City transit market, a survey of rider preferences, and service guidelines that set standards for providing transit service.