RideKC cuts service on 6 more bus routes as transit agency deals with impact of COVID
RideKC announced Wednesday it will reduce bus services on six more of its routes due to staff shortages and an increasing spread of COVID-19 in the community — the third round of cuts since mid-November.
The six routes affected will shift their weekday service to their Saturday schedules beginning Jan. 4, according to a news release. RideKC plans to add early morning trips to the schedules on most of those routes so that they being roughly the same time as the weekday schedule.
The affected routes have a combined weekday average of about 3,100.
“Please note that these routes are not being eliminated, rather they will have reduced operating hours and frequency of service,” said Cindy Baker, chief external affairs officer for the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority.
“These riders will still have access to a route, but it may not be as convenient for them or meet their needs as well as a regular schedule,” she said.
The routes shifting their weekday service to Saturday are:
▪ 27 27th Street: No additional trips will be added to its Saturday schedule.
▪ 28 Blue Ridge: Additional northbound trips will be added at about 5:30 and 6:30 a.m. An additional southbound trip will be added at about 5:50 a.m. RideKC will also adjust the bus’ route through downtown, which will be announced later.
▪ 63 63rd Street: Additional westbound trips will be added at about 5:45 a.m. from 63rd Street and Prospect Avenue, 6:30 a.m., and 7:30 a.m. Additional eastbound trips will be added at approximately 6 and 7 a.m.
▪ 75 75th Street: Additional westbound trips will be added at approximately 5:05 and 6:05 a.m. An additional eastbound trip will be added at approximately 5:20 a.m.
▪ 229 KCI-Boardwalk: An additional southbound trip will be added at about 5:20 a.m. An additional northbound trip will be added at about 4:50 a.m., which will be an express to Kansas City International Airport.
▪ 238 Meadowbrook: An additional southbound trip will be added at about 6:00 a.m. No additional northbound trips will be added.
“RideKC has strategically rolled back service to preserve access to jobs, education and equitable access for low-income residents who need public transportation most,” said Robbie Makinen, KCATA’s president and chief executive officer.
“If customers must make essential trips, they can have confidence that RideKC is continuing all of the safety protocols that have been in place consistently throughout the pandemic, such as a mask requirement, rear door boarding and limiting the number of seats available.”
In late November and mid-December, RideKC discontinued service on 15 Truman Road, 23 23rd Street, 29 Blue Ridge Limited, 51 Ward Parkway, 55 Universities-Crossroads, 233 Vivion-Antioch, 234 Boardwalk-Antioch, 297 Tiffany Springs Flex, 340 TMC-Lakewood, 535 Liberty-Shoal Creek Express, 570 Blue Springs Express, and 571 71 Highway Express. The 529 KCI Express Limited also began operating on a reduced schedule on Nov. 23.
RideKC has been recommending that riders only make essential trips for groceries, physical and mental health needs and work.
Fares have also been suspended on all RideKC buses, including those operated by the KCATA, Johnson County, Kansas City, Kansas, and Independence for at least the remainder of this year. Fares resumed on 199 Micro Transit and 499 Microtransit in early November.
RideKC’s ridership overall has fluctuated during the pandemic, depending on which measure used, Baker said. November ridership, for example, was down 13% from pre-COVID levels in February.
“Essentially, we had a fairly big loss in March and April, and it has gradually recovered since then,” she said.
The majority of the loss in ridership came from rush-hour weekday commuters, especially on routes that specialize in suburb-to-city commuting. Weekend ridership has held more steady.
“This is consistent with the fact that the typical 8-5 weekday office worker is mostly working from home, whereas essential employees that have to be on-site a their jobs tend to have a much greater variation in work days and hours, and continue to rely on transit,” Baker said.
The biggest challenges of the pandemic for the transit service is having to restrict capacity on buses due to social distancing and having fewer operators available, she said. Currently, the KCATA has 26 employees in quarantine and five active positive cases.
“But the silver lining — opportunity if you will — has been to demonstrate KCATA’s commitment to our four pillars: providing access to jobs, education, health care and broad-based access to equitable opportunities to the community,” Baker said.
RidekC has the following COVID guidelines:
▪ Face coverings are required for riders and bus operators.
▪ Social distancing is required on buses.
▪ Riders should board and exit buses at the back door unless they have a disability that requires the ramp or kneeling feature, available at the front of the bus.
For more information about COVID updates and transit, see RideKC.org/bulletins/covid.
This story was originally published December 23, 2020 at 1:46 PM.
