RideKC will celebrate the launch of the transformational Prospect MAX Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2019 with a party on Prospect – Prospectacular from 12 to 3 p.m. in the Sun Fresh Market parking lot at 3110 Prospect.
Prospectacular – The Kickoff Celebration
Prospectacular will be a family-friendly event for customers and the many stakeholders who have worked for years to see this project completed. There will be free food (while supplies last), games, Prospect MAX giveaways and the Marching Cobras will perform. The official program starts at 1:30 p.m. when Mayor Quinton Lucas will make a major announcement about the new service. Congressman Emanuel Cleaver and City of Kansas City, Mo. Councilmembers will be there to celebrate this long-awaited $56 million transit investment.
The Maiden Voyage – Customer Appreciation
Prospect MAX will officially start service at 4:13 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 9, 2019. The first customer on board will get a special gift. Then from 6 a.m. to noon, Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) staff will be stationed at various Prospect MAX platforms along the route to welcome customers, hand out Prospect MAX themed gifts and to educate riders about the new route amenities.
“This is a premiere BRT line that we’ve been planning for years to enhance one of our busiest routes,” said Robbie Makinen, President and CEO of KCATA. “We’ve put a lot of high-tech amenities along the corridor and we want customers to enjoy all the upgrades to this important route for the City’s Eastside.”
Prospect MAX – RideKC’s Third BRT MAX Line
Prospect MAX BRT will inject $56 million worth of street and sidewalk upgrades, transit stop infrastructure and advanced technology along Kansas City’s 10-mile Prospect Avenue corridor from downtown to 75th Street. It will have boarding stations every four to six blocks. The new BRT line will enhance the transit experience for existing riders by offering more frequent service, traffic signal priority, fewer stops, free public WiFi and uniquely branded red buses. The stations will offer no-step level-boarding for customers and conductive concrete, which melts snow and ice from the sidewalks and platforms.
KCATA already operates two MAX BRT lines: Main MAX (opened 2005) and Troost MAX (opened 2011). Prospect MAX is projected to be 100% complete by Spring 2020.