Johnson County will use the Kansas City ATA to manage its bus system

Johnson County will eliminate its 11-person transportation department and turn over management of The Jo bus system to the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority.

The deal was approved unanimously Thursday by the Johnson County Board of Commissioners and will become final by early next year.

It comes 33 years after Johnson County broke free from the ATA in hopes of saving money. But potential tax savings of $450,000 to $510,000, as well as renewed trust in the ATA, prompted the new negotiations, which could result in expanded bus service.

“I think it offers excellent possibilities,” commission chairman Ed Eilert said, “not only for Johnson County but the metropolitan area.”

Under the deal, the ATA will manage The Jo’s fixed-route bus system, as well as paratransit services for people with disabilities. Private contractors will continue to operate those services and employ the drivers. But the ATA will oversee the contracts and promises to build better coordination between Johnson County’s system and The Metro bus system that the ATA operates in Kansas City.

Cost savings for both The Metro and The Jo could be achieved by joint purchase agreements of fuel, buses and other supplies.

But deputy county manager Penny Postoak Ferguson assured commissioners that “we’re not going to be commingling our funds.”

Johnson County will pay the ATA $475,000 a year. Immediate cost savings will come from staff cuts. Some Johnson County Transit employees might find jobs with the ATA. Others will get preference for jobs in other county departments, while some could be laid off.

This story was originally published September 25, 2014 at 3:00 PM with the headline "Johnson County will use the Kansas City ATA to manage its bus system."