Johnson County to cut fares on four major express RideKC bus routes

Riders on four RideKC express routes between Johnson County and downtown Kansas City will notice a new fare starting Wednesday.

Johnson County will cut the current fare by 75 cents, reducing the cost of a one-way trip to $1.50. The current fare is $2.25.

The new fare is available on the 519 Olathe Express, 563 Shawnee Express, 569 South OP Express and the 595 Gardner-OP Express.

The new fare will be the same as the $1.50 fare for local bus service offered in Johnson County and the Kansas City region. The fare reduction is an effort to move the Kansas City area toward a single, seamless transit system.

In addition to the fare reduction, the price for a 31-day express pass will be $50, reduced from $75.60. The reduction accounts for the lower base fares and will be the same price as a 31-day pass for local bus service across the region.

“The lower fare will bring added convenience to our customers,” said Steve Klika, chairman of the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, in a release.

“We will now have more consistency in our fare structure across the metro area as we create a single, regional transit system that’s friendly to riders on both sides of the state line,” he said.

This story was originally published February 27, 2017 at 11:21 AM with the headline "Johnson County to cut fares on four major express RideKC bus routes."