$9 million federal grant allows KCATA to buy new buses

Kansas City’s bus system has been awarded a federal grant of nearly $9 million, one of its largest grants in more than 20 years, to help modernize its fleet.

“This is a very big win for the region to stabilize and improve bus service,” Kansas City Area Transportation Authority President Robbie Makinen said Thursday after the grant was announced. “It will enable us to right-size the fleet, and explore innovative ways to deploy service, including the introduction of over-the-road coaches for the region.”

The KCATA was awarded $8.98 million in federal funds from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration as part of its $211 million bus and bus facilities grant program. Kansas City’s local match is about $1.59 million, for a total of $10.57 million.

That money will buy two new rapid transit buses, two standard-sized 40-foot buses, 16 smaller 30-foot buses, and two over-the-road coaches. The coaches are quite large, hold more people, and provide a smoother ride in interstate express trips.

Transit officials said this is the largest grant that the metro bus system has received for bus fleet replacement since 1993.

Makinen thanked the area’s congressional delegation for working hard to win this grant “and for their continued support for funding Prospect MAX.”

The bus system is still hoping for $30 million in federal funding for construction of a 10-mile Prospect MAX bus rapid transit project from downtown to 75th Street on Prospect Avenue. The funding was included in President Obama’s 2017 budget, as part of 31 transportation projects in 18 states recommended for the FTA’s capital investment grant program. But that funding is subject to congressional approval through the annual appropriations process.

This story was originally published September 8, 2016 at 1:44 PM with the headline "$9 million federal grant allows KCATA to buy new buses."