Kansas City Region Offers Free Bus and Paratransit Fares on Election Day

(Kansas City, Mo. – Oct. 21, 2016) RideKC routes will offer free fares all day on Tuesday, Nov. 8, to make it easier for citizens to vote in the General Election. 

“Exercising the right to vote is so important that we want to make it as easy as possible to get to the polls,” said KCATA President and CEO Robbie Makinen. “We are grateful to our regional transit partners in Johnson County, Independence and KCK for agreeing to make this a truly regional transit initiative.”

On Election Day, fares on all RideKC bus routes serving Kansas City, Johnson County, Wyandotte County and Independence will be free. KCATA paratransit offered by KCATA will also be free to ride. 

“I simply cannot overstate the importance of getting out and voting on Election Day,” said Kansas City, Mo., Mayor Sly James. “Voting is one of the most impactful ways residents can perform their civic duty and I am grateful to the KCATA and RideKC transit partners for doing their part to ensure all residents have an opportunity to make their voices heard on November 8.”

Mayor James and KCATA CEO Robbie Makinen will announce the free fares at a press event at 10 a.m., Monday, Oct. 24 at the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, 1200 E. 18th St., Kansas City, MO 64108. They will be joined by Unified Government Mayor Mark Holland, Independence Mayor Eileen Weir, and Johnson County Commissioner Steve Klika, who is also chair of the KCATA Board of Commissioners.

Before the Nov. 8 General Election, residents can check their polling place and voter status.

To find your polling place and check your voter status, Kansas City residents in Jackson County can visit the Kansas City Election Board website, http://www.kceb.org/. For other locations in Missouri, start with the Secretary of State’s website, http://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/govotemissouri/.

In Kansas, Johnson County voters can access resources at Johnson County Election Office, https://www.jocoelection.org/default.htm, and Wyandotte County election information is available at Wyandotte County Election Office, http://www.wycokck.org/election/ Kansas allows Advance Voting in person and by mail, in addition to voting at the polls on Nov. 8. The above websites can provide more details. For those who live elsewhere in Kansas, information is available at Vote Kansas, http://www.voteks.org/.

Customers can plan their travel early. For help planning your trip, call 816-221-0660 and be ready to provide the starting address and the address of the polling place you will be traveling to. Customers can also plan a trip with Google Transit trip planner, available on the home page of RideKC.org. The Regional Transit Call Center is also open weekdays from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.