RideKC Next
RideKC Next
RideKC will launch its new transit redesign with some new faces. A large-scale hiring campaign is in the works to ensure the success of RideKC Next.
We’ve reached out to the community with draft schedules and heard customer and stakeholder feedback. We made some changes, added service and tweaked the stops. Now we need more professional bus operators to make the plan work.
RideKC Next creates a frequent grid, seven days a week, to connect more people to opportunities. All frequent routes will provide service every 15 minutes on weekdays and Saturdays. It’s going to be a simpler, easier and more efficient network. RideKC Flex service will expand and modernize north of the Missouri River with app-based booking and tracking.
When the pandemic hit, essential workers kept riding. Our customers needed transit to access healthcare, employment, education and housing; the four pillars of transit on a foundation of social equity. With Zero Fare in place, RideKC’s ridership recovered faster than most transit agencies. The rebounding ridership was a strong indicator that the public was ready for our new transit redesign: RideKC Next.
While KCATA did not lay off any full-time operators during the pandemic, it is necessary to expand our workforce to fully deliver on RideKC Next.
RideKC Next will now launch in 2022 with better service and more operators. It will be the RideKC of the future.
Interested in becoming a RideKC professional bus operator? Learn more on our website.
More About RideKC Next
The RideKC Next project is a comprehensive review and redesign of transit service focused on Kansas City, Mo. (KCMO), conducted by the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) as part of our mission to connect people with opportunities.
What’s in the Network?
The core tenets of RideKC service are access to jobs, access to education, access to healthcare and equitable access for low-income residents who need it most. A frequent grid will connect more people to opportunity.
- Eight intersecting routes in the urban core will offer service every 15 minutes on weekdays and Saturdays, every 30 minutes on Sundays. This is the new frequent grid of service that will improve travel times for the customers who need it most.
- East-West upgrades will offer service every 15 minutes on 12 12th Street, 39 39th Street and 47 47th Street (to KU Med Center) routes; 24 Independence and 31 31st Street will continue to offer service every 15 minutes.
- Main, Troost, and Prospect MAX service will offer service every 15 minutes to 75th Street, will less frequent service south of 75th providing more “single seat” rides to more places.
- These routes will operate from 5 a.m. to midnight, Sunday through Saturday.
- More and consistent weekend service.
A simpler, easier and more efficient network.
- Routes on the frequent grid will operate from 5 a.m. to midnight, seven days per week. Service will be frequent from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday to Saturday.
- All other fixed routes will operate 5am to 8pm except 201 North Oak and 229 Boardwalk-KCI. Timed transfers at key locations will ensure minimal wait times.
- Fewer routes 1/4 mile apart or less connecting the same neighborhoods to downtown.
- Flex service expanded and modernized north of the Missouri River.
See additional documents including system map and route frequency table.
RideKC Next changes are coming Oct. 3, 2021. Draft schedules, including maps and timetables, are available online and in our official app Transit. RideKC Next includes the restoration of more transit service.
If you have further questions or would like to submit a comment, please call 816.346.0300 or email planning@kcata.org.
For route and schedule information, visit RideKC.org any time or call the RideKC Regional Call Center at (816) 221-0660, weekdays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. We offer translation assistance for trip information in more than 50 languages.
El Centro de Llamadas Regional de RideKC brinda asistencia con la traducción al 816-221-0660, de lunes a viernes de 6 a.m. a 6 p.m. Lo conectaremos con un intérprete que puede traducir la información del viaje en más de 50 idiomas.
Additional Documents
Table of RideKC routes and their frequency
Map of Kansas City, Mo., service [PDF]
