Catching a public bus to a World Cup match or fan fest in Kansas City? What to know
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- KC2026 amassed a fleet of over 200 buses to shuttle people around the metro.
- The Fan Festival hub offers $5 day, $25 week and $50 unlimited bus passes.
- Buses will cycle every 15–20 minutes at the airport and regional bus stops.
World Cup fans can now reserve seats on public buses to take them to matches and events from the Fan Festival at the National World War I Museum and Memorial.
Organizers said that people from 112 countries and all 50 states have registered to attend the Fan Fest.
At a press conference on Friday, KC2026 CEO Pam Kramer said that early data on the transportation passes is consistent with reservations at the Fan Festival. Reservations for the transit program opened on Wednesday.
“I wouldn’t want to jump too far ahead on making assumptions based on the transportation data alone, but again, a very diverse purchase location,” Kramer said. “And Argentina and Ecuador are the two strongest international countries of origin for purchasers, similar to Fan Fest.”
KC 2026 said they have amassed a fleet of over 200 buses to shuttle people around the Kansas City metro.
The first stop for many visitors, Kansas City International Airport, will have a shuttle from the airport to the fan festival. The airport shuttle is free, and will run between 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily for anyone that has signed up for the transportation system.
Routes around the metro
The fan fest is the central hub for the system put in place by event organizers. There will be buses from the FIFA Fan Festival to 15 locations across the metro.
The service costs $5 for a day pass, $25 for a full week and $50 for unlimited rides throughout the tournament’s duration. It will run from 10 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday, and from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
The 15 locations are:
- Boardwalk Square: 8600 N. Boardwalk Ave., Kansas City, MO.
- Independence Center: 18801 E. 39th Street, Independence, MO.
- Independence Square: 13910 E. Truman Road, Independence, MO.
- KC Zoo and Starlight Theatre: 6800 Zoo Drive, Kansas City, MO.
- Lawrence: 2315 Bob Billings Parkway, Lawrence, KS.
- Lee’s Summit: 206 SW Market Street, Lee’s Summit, MO.
- The Legends: 10824 Parallel Parkway SPC 700, Kansas City, KS.
- Lenexa City Center: 8700 Scarborough St., Lenexa, KS.
- Liberty: 1915 College Street, Liberty, MO.
- Mission Transit Center: 5251 Johnson Drive, Mission, KS.
- North Kansas City: 520 E. 19th Street, Overland Park, KS.
- Oak Park Mall: 11855 W. 95th Street, Overland Park, KS.
- Overland Park Convention Center: 6000 College Boulevard, Overland Park, KS.
- Worlds of Fun: 4545 NE Worlds of Fun Drive, Kansas City, MO.
- 3-Trails Transit Center: 9449 Blue Ridge Boulevard, Kansas City, MO.
Buses will cycle every 15–20 minutes at the airport and the regional bus stops.
On match days, buses will run from the Oak Park Mall, Independence Center, North Kansas City and Graceway Church in Raytown to Arrowhead. The direct line to the stadium will cost $15 round trip and is reserved for ticketholders. The service starts three hours before kickoff and ends two hours after a match concludes.
Johnson County bus lines
Johnson County United, a centralized resource for the county’s World Cup visitors, will run three bus lines in the county. It shares stops with the regional bus stops in Mission, Oak Park Mall and the Overland Park Convention Center.
The first bus line has stops at the town center in Merriam, downtown Shawnee, downtown Overland Park and the Oak Park Mall.
The second bus line will have stops at the Oak Park Mall, the Overland Park Convention Center, Mission Farms, Leawood Town Center, Prairie Fire, Scheels Sporting Goods and Sheels Soccer Complex.
The third line will have stops at the Oak Park Mall, Lenexa City Center, Garmin Soccer Complex and Strang Line Road.
The bus lines will run from 4 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturdays and from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays. Shuttles will arrive every 30 minutes between June 1 and July 16, and every hour from July 17 until funding for the program is exhausted.
