KCATA Approves Service Improvement Plan For Metro Bus Service

Posted on: Jan 31, 2012

(Kansas City, Mo. – January 31, 2012) The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) Board of Commissioners has approved a plan to revamp Metro transit service in Kansas City, Mo. The changes are the result of a Comprehensive Service Analysis (CSA), a study of transit service within Kansas City, Mo., with a focus on how to provide better service with existing resources. The resulting service improvements will not raise the cost of providing service. Metro and MAX service will be more convenient, easier to use, easier to understand, faster, and more direct. Transit service will better match the demand in areas throughout the city. “These changes will bring more efficient transit service, and service that is easier to understand,” said KCATA General Manager Mark Huffer. “Through the study, we learned that most of our service was operating well. However, we have identified areas and times that could use more transit service, as well as some areas with more transit service than was necessary.” Fifty-four routes will be affected by the changes. The changes will be phased in throughout 2012 on a quarterly basis in April, July and October. Twenty-one routes will provide more frequent service; less frequent service will be provided on six routes. Some routes were found to be operating too early or too late, so 11 routes will have longer hours of service and 20 routes will have shorter spans of service. When all the changes are implemented, The Metro expects that ridership may increase by as much as 8%, while overall operating costs should decrease by 2-3%. Along with the changes to routes and schedules, KCATA will change route numbers and names for many routes in order to make the system easier to use and more directly reflect areas served by each route. From August to the end of December 2011, the agency asked comments about the recommended changes. KCATA received more than 700 comments through online feedback, a phone comment line, and at seven public open houses. As a result of these comments, The Metro made changes to 22 of the initial recommendations. “We received excellent feedback from customers and stakeholders,” said Planning Director Danny O’Connor. “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 will be expanded to the following areas: Hickman Mills, Ruskin Heights, Westside, Airport, New Mark, Gashland, Zona Rosa, and Tiffany Springs. Route Changes Begin In April The changes will be phased in throughout 2012. Routes marked as “Revised” on this page have been changed from the recommendations issued in Fall 2011, in response to feedback from customers. See our Maps and Schedules section for more detailed route information.