KC Streetcar sees huge changes in ridership during World Cup. What to know
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- The KC Streetcar reported over 400,000 passenger trips since the Fan Festival began.
- The system averaged about 34,000 rides per day during the FIFA World Cup period.
- Daily World Cup ridership more than doubled the January–May 2026 average of 14,000.
Soccer fans appear to be heavily utilizing Kansas City’s free public transit system while the FIFA World Cup is in town.
The Kansas City Streetcar Authority said in a news release that ridership continues to skyrocket during the monthlong international soccer tournament that’s brought a surge of foreign fans to the city.
Since the FIFA Fan Festival kicked off at the National WWI Museum and Memorial on June 11, the streetcar has provided more than 400,000 passenger trips. That’s an average of 34,000 rides a day. It’s also more than double the daily ridership for the first five months of 2026, nearly 14,000 riders a day, according to the agency’s May report.
Ridership peaked on June 27 — when Algeria and Austria faced off in a dramatic 3-3 draw in Kansas City — with more than 48,000 passenger rides, setting the single-day record.
The significant increase in riders will likely continue with two more World Cup matches in the city and the fan festival scheduled for at least two more weekends.
Tom Gerend, executive director for the streetcar authority, said the agency planned for an increase in ridership and the system has lived up to the moment.
The 6.5-mile public transit system that travels from the riverfront to the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s campus is prepared for the influx of soccer fans by increasing the number of operating streetcars and boosting security.
“Our visitors are embracing this fast, friendly, fare-free transit option to experience everything Kansas City has to offer,” Gerend said, “and we’re honored to play a part in connecting them to our community.”
Local World Cup organizers have credited the streetcar for getting throngs of soccer fans to the fan festival. Pam Kramer, CEO for KC 2026, said earlier in June that the streetcar helped many of the 63,000 fans who had attended the first five days of the festivities.
“The KC Streetcar has been instrumental in making it easy for people to move throughout downtown, midtown and everything in-between, connect to our ConnectKC26 bus mall and explore other parts of the region and enjoy the energy that is making this tournament so special,” Kramer said in a news release.
Streetcar ridership had already been on the rise this year, vastly outpacing total passenger rides of previous years.
The agency reported the streetcar transported more than 350,000 passengers in each of March, April and May of this year. The streetcar had only surpassed that many monthly riders once before in December 2025.
