Reliable transit expands access to jobs, supports economic growth and improves quality of life by reducing transportation costs and traffic congestion. It also plays a critical role in supporting a healthy environment by lowering emissions and promoting walkable, livable communities.
Yet, in the Kansas City region, adequate transit funding has been a persistent challenge for decades. Recently, COVID-19 relief funding that was used to support transit service has expired, and cities have been faced with difficult budget constraints, making the question of how to sustain and grow public transit even more pressing. So, how is transit funded in the Kansas City region, and what does the future hold?
Who provides public transit service regionally?
The Kansas City region’s service area includes nine counties in Missouri and seven counties in Kansas. The providers include:
- Kansas City Area Transit Authority (KCATA)
- KC Streetcar
- Johnson County Transit
- Unified Government Transit
- City of Independence
What’s the current state of public transit in the region?
In 2020, as transit ridership declined around the country, the federal government included relief funding to be used for public transit in three major bills passed in 2020 and 2021 (the CARES Act, Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act and the American Rescue Plan Act).
Transit agencies around the country received relief dollars to offset fare revenue losses from declining pandemic ridership and keep the system running for those who needed it most. That funding has since expired.
Since then, there have been a range of cuts to service around the region due to funding challenges.
- Gladstone, Raytown, Blue Springs and Grandview all ended their bus contracts over costs in 2024.
- The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, will eliminate two bus routes in 2025 over budget concerns.
- Independence eliminated all but one of the seven bus routes it operates and has replaced those fixed-routes with RideKC’s on-demand micro-transit service called IRIS, as other cities have done.
- Recently, the KCATA proposed service reductions and layoffs in Kansas City, Missouri.
What is the difference between operating and capital funding?
Operating funds can be used to pay for things like wages for transit operators and fuel for buses. Typically, most operating funding comes from local sources.
Capital funds can be used to support things like purchasing buses, building new rail lines or bus stop improvements.
Where do capital funds come from?
Capital funding comes from a variety of federal, state and local sources. The federal government, through the Federal Transportation Administration (FTA), provides funds to the region in the following ways:
- Federal formula funds: Formula grants have a research-based, objective mechanism for funds distribution across different public programs. Whether funding relates to population statistics, economic factors, or social indicators, formula grants are devised to ensure that resources are spread fairly.
- Federal discretionary funds: In discretionary competitive grants, states and local governments compete for funding through an application process.
- MARC sub-allocated funds: Sub-allocated funding from the federal government is passed through our state departments of transportation to the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) and is used to fund transportation projects in the Kansas City region. MARC is the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Kansas City region, and they distribute funds using a competitive application process.
- State funding: One percent of transit revenue came from the states of Kansas and Missouri in 2022.
Where do operating funds come from?
Because federal funding can’t typically be used for operations, local sources have to cover operations costs for the region’s transit system.
- City or county general funds: Cities throughout the Kansas City region contract with KCATA for service, but they may run their own services with a private operator, which is what Johnson County Transit does. These funds come from a city’s general fund and may be subject to year-to-year budget negotiations.
- Fares: In other regions across the country, fares generate a large portion of transit agencies’ revenue, but because the KCATA introduced fare-free transit in 2020, less than 1% comes from fares (this stems from micro-transit programs that charge fares). Prior to 2020, fares made up between 7 and 12% of the agency’s budget.
- Sales taxes: A 3/8 cent sales tax in Kansas City, Missouri, supports approximately 30% of the RideKC bus system in Kansas City, Missouri. That tax funds wages for workers who provide the service, such as bus operators and mechanics, as well as security personnel. It also enables KCATA to access federal funds for such things as new buses by providing a local match that is required from various federal funding programs.
How does the Kansas City region stack up against its peers?
In the fall of 2024, MARC released an update to its Peer Regions Transit Report. The study looks at how Kansas City funds its system and how it stacks up against peer and aspirational regions across the country. Key findings include:
- Spending per capita: Kansas City area transit agencies spent $46.53 per capita in state, local funds and directly generated revenues per capita in 2022. The region placed 12th among 15 peer and aspirational metros in the amount of transit money spent per resident. This marks a 28% decrease in funding spent per capita, down from $59.51 per capita in 2016.
- State funding: In 2021, the Kansas City region received $1.39 million in state operating funding, ranking 10th out of 15 total peer and aspirational regions. As a comparison, the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Pittsburgh and Milwaukee regions receive much of their operating funding from their respective states. Regions including Cincinnati, Nashville and Louisville receive a very small proportion of funding from state sources.
- City contributions: In 2023, the contributing jurisdictions in the Kansas City region averaged $55.61 per capita on transit services.
- Locally, Kansas City, Missouri, had the highest contribution with $130.49 in local investment per capita.
- North Kansas City, Missouri, contributed $99.57 in local investment per capita.
- The Unified Government of Wyandotte County rounded out the top three with $60.66 in local investment per capita.
What’s the future of transit funding in the Kansas City region?
Conversations around transit funding have gained momentum over the past year, reflecting growing public and political interest in the issue.
- Public engagement: In October 2024, WAY TO GO hosted a Transit Funding 101 panel at the AIA KC space in the Crossroads. The event drew a full house, demonstrating strong community interest in how transit is funded and what the future holds.
- Media coverage: Local media outlets, including The Beacon, KCUR and The Kansas City Star, continue to highlight transit funding and service reduction developments and their impact on residents.
- Planning for the future: MARC is currently updating its Smart Moves Transit & Mobility Plan, which aims to expand high-frequency transit service and explore funding solutions. The 2017 plan proposed eight “fast and frequent” routes within five years, yet only three have been implemented so far (Troost, Main and Prospect). This plan update will focus on implementation strategies.
- Exploring regional funding solutions: Public officials in Jackson, Clay, Platte, Wyandotte and Johnson counties have expressed growing interest in creating a regional funding mechanism for transit. Any new sales tax or funding initiative would require voter approval, and discussions among local leaders are ongoing.
