Major Service Changes Coming to Metro Routes
Posted on: Sep 28, 2012
(Kansas City, Mo. – Sept. 26, 2012) On Sunday, Sept. 30, the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) rolls out significant changes to several Metro routes. The changes are part of the Metro2012 package of changes. The first and second rounds of changes occurred in April and July 2012. These changes are creating a more efficient network of transit routes, while providing a public transportation system that is easier for customers to use.
Several routes are being streamlined to provide more direct service and reduce the need for customers to transfer.
Some of the biggest changes coming this Sunday include:
- 142-North Oak will add service to Zona Rosa via Congress Ave. The route will also run on Sundays and later in the evenings.
- 30-Northeast will extend to the Northeast Industrial District to replace the 126-E. 5th Street, which is being discontinued. This change adds weeknight and weekend transit service to the area, as well as offer more frequent service to the area.
- The Metro makes transit on 12th Street and Truman Road more intuitive and easier to use. The 12th-Street route, which alternated trips on Truman or 12th Street, will be split into two routes: the NEW 15-Truman Road will serve Truman Road and downtown. The 12-12th Street will use 12th Street on all trips, and will extend to 31st & Van Brunt for more transfer connections.
- 47-Roanoke and 51-Broadway will have new routes to better match the demand for service in downtown, midtown, the Plaza and the East Side. Both routes are being renamed. 47 will become the 47-Broadway with service along Main, Broadway, 47th St. and Blue Parkway. The route will add Sunday service. 51 will become the 51-Ward Parkway, serving Southwest Trafficway, KU Medical Center, West Plaza, Ward Parkway and the Linden Hills area.
"These changes will provide better service to the large majority of existing riders, attract new riders to the system, and improve system productivity, without increasing our budget," General Manager Mark Huffer said. “We are already seeing increased ridership on the routes we improved in July.”
The 24 routes that were changed in July have resulted in a 1.9% increase in ridership on these routes, comparing June to August.
New schedules and detailed bulletins are available online at [url=http://www.kcata.org]http://www.kcata.org[/url]. Metro ambassadors have been on the street for the last several days making sure customers are aware of the upcoming changes.
The Metro’s Regional Call Center – 816-221-0660- will be open extra hours this weekend and next weekend from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to help customers plan their trips. The Call Center regular hours are weekdays, 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Routes that are changing this Sunday include:
12-12th Street
15-Truman Road (New Route)
30-Northeast
47-Broadway
51-Ward Parkway
55-Rockhill (Discontinued)
71-Prospect
109-9th Street
121-Cleveland-Antioch
123-23rd Street
126-East 5th St. (Discontinued)
142-North Oak
155-55th Street
163-63rd Street
247-Westside MetroFlex (Discontinued)
298-South Kansas City MetroFlex
About the Comprehensive Service Analysis
The changes are the result of a Comprehensive Service Analysis, or CSA, which examined all the bus routes in Kansas City, Mo. Starting in the summer of 2010, the CSA included a market analysis that assessed the demand for transit service throughout Kansas City, Mo.; a detailed evaluation of the performance of all Kansas City, Mo., routes; and the development and evaluation of alternative service scenarios.
"Cities are dynamic places that are always changing, and this is the case in Kansas City," Huffer said. "Throughout the city, population and employment have shifted. The places that residents, workers and visitors travel to and from have changed, as well as the number of people who travel between these areas. We need to make sure our service keeps up with the changes in the City.”
The CSA started in 2010 and included broad-based public input received through public forums; meetings with the City Council and staff; customer surveys; and customer comments submitted through email and phone line comments.
Based on more than 700 comments from the public, many initial recommendations were modified. The final package is truly reflective of the community’s preferences.
“We received excellent feedback from customers and stakeholders,” Planning Director Danny O’Connor said. “Hundreds of people looked closely at our proposed changes and told us how the new service would affect them.”
In addition to specific route changes, the overall way that KCATA plans and provides service is being refined. Service is focused on a network of key corridors, with improvements in reliability and directness. Duplicative services are being consolidated and service is expanded to new areas where needed. Schedules are being revised to be more consistent and easier for customers to remember, and MetroFlex will incorporate scheduled connections. Service is being expanded to the following areas: Hickman Mills, Ruskin Heights, Westside, Airport, New Mark, and Zona Rosa.
A total of 54 routes will be affected by the changes. Three routes were affected by minor changes in April 2012. The rest of the changes, affecting additional routes in the Northland, will be made in April 2013. Over the course of a year, changes are being made to most Metro routes in Kansas City, Mo.
Construction Begins on New Midtown KCK Transit Center (Former Indian Springs)
Posted on: Sep 18, 2012
(Kansas City, Mo. – September 18, 2012) The Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Ks. (UG), and the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) break ground on the Midtown KCK MetroCenter at 47th & State Ave. at 10 a.m. tomorrow, September 19, 2012.
The new transit center will not only make transferring and waiting for bus connections more comfortable, safer and convenient, it will also help spur economic development in the surrounding area and throughout the corridor.
“The new $4.5 million Midtown MetroCenter will become a hub for economic development,” says Mayor Joe Reardon. “We’re truly grateful to the combined partnerships with the KCATA, MARC, Area Agency on Aging and the KCKPD, which makes this project the most significant investment made in public transit to date and will undoubtedly serve as an essential project to begin the transformation of the Indian Springs site.”
Key to the transit center improvements is the addition of an 11,000 square foot facility that is also being built that will deliver added transit value to the community. This facility will feature:
- A substation for the Kansas City, Ks., Police Department’s midtown unit, providing a 24-7 police presence.
- The Area Agency on Aging’s mobility management services will relocate to the new transit center.
- A Transit Community Space that will be available for a broad range of community meetings and activities.
When the Midtown KCK MetroCenter opens in August 2013, it will accommodate eight buses. However, it can be expanded to accommodate 12 buses if needed for future development. The Downtown KCK MetroCenter is also under construction at 7th & Minnesota Ave. The new transit centers will feature improved customer waiting areas, as well as real-time passenger information. At the centers and along the route, KCATA and UG will build passenger shelters and benches, add bus stop platforms and landscaping, and improve pedestrian connections.
Ridership for all Metro and Unified Government bus routes in Kansas City, Ks., is projected to surpass 1.3 million riders this year. This represents a 15 percent increase over 2010.
“More and more people are figuring out that transit is an excellent way to save money and go green,” said KCATA General Manager Mark Huffer. “We are excited to partner with the Unified Government to bring better facilities and a better passenger experience to our transit customers in Kansas City, Ks.”
State Ave./KCK Connex improvements will be made along the 14-mile transit route that begins at the 10th & Main MetroCenter in downtown Kansas City, Mo., travels through downtown Kansas City, Ks., and ends at Village West at 109th & Parallel Parkway. KCATA, in partnership with the Unified Government, is making these improvements in the State Avenue Corridor with funding from the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant and ARRA grant.
The total project represents a $13 million infrastructure investment, funded primarily through the TIGER grant program. Additional sources include ARRA, the Federal Transit Administration and the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Ks. Street and sidewalk improvements are expected to be complete in January 2013, with full transit center completion in August 2013.
