(Kansas City, Mo. – June 20, 2016) New RideKC transit service will be launched July 5 in Johnson County, providing new and expanded regional connections to jobs, higher education and many restaurants and stores.
The additional service will bring expanded public transportation options to neighborhoods in Overland Park, Shawnee, Merriam, Prairie Village and Leawood. Service will be doubled on 75th Street, a new route will be added on 95th Street and new destinations will be added to a route serving Metcalf Avenue, a primary commercial route through Overland Park.
Destinations on the expanded service include Prairiefire, Oak Park Mall, AdventHealth Shawnee Mission, Overland Park Regional Medical Center, Johnson County Community College, Sprint, Black & Veatch and the University of Kansas-Edwards Campus.
Here’s a look at the new transit options serving Johnson County:
495-95th Street: This is a new east-west route operating during the morning and afternoon rush hour from 74th Terrace & Broadway in the Waldo neighborhood of Kansas City, Mo., to Oak Park Mall in Overland Park. Buses will serve Leawood, Prairie Village and Overland Park along the route. The route will be extended west to Lenexa in 2017.
556-Metcalf/Plaza: New trips to the Prairiefire shopping and entertainment district, Corbin Park and Johnson County Community College are added during the morning and afternoon rush hour.
575-75th Street/Quivira: Weekday service is doubling on this route between 75th & Troost in Kansas City, Mo. and the University of Kansas-Edwards campus in Overland Park. Transit service will operate every 30 minutes during the morning and afternoon rush hour, and every hour during the mid-day. The route serves 75th Street in Shawnee and south on Quivira Road through Lenexa and Overland Park.
75-75th Street: A fourth round trip will be added during the morning and afternoon rush hour between the Waldo neighborhood in Kansas City, Mo. and Overland Park, Kan. Route serves big employers such as Sprint, Quintiles, Black & Veatch and Saint Luke’s South. It also serves Town Center Plaza and Park Place in Leawood.
Complimentary passes for the new service are now available online at ridekc.org. Detailed maps and schedules are also available online, so customers can look at the expanded service and plan their trips now.
The new service is intended to break down regional transit barriers and improve connections to employment centers in Johnson County.
“Our priority is connecting people to jobs,” said Steve Klika, chairman of the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority’s Board of Commissioners. “These new routes allow riders to move fluidly between Kansas and Missouri as they commute to work. Our new expanded transit offerings open access to thousands of jobs on both sides of the state line.”
Klika said the new service is a step toward building a seamless transit system that connects all routes across the region together with the overarching goal of connecting workers to employers throughout the Kansas City area.
“This new transit service demonstrates Johnson County’s commitment to regional public transportation,” said Robbie Makinen, president and chief executive officer of the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority. “The expanded service is another major step toward knocking down regional barriers and seamlessly moving people between Kansas and Missouri. We applaud Johnson County for making this quality of life investment.”