Kansas City buses to add east-west routes, come more frequently during World Cup

As local public transit cuts loom later this year, Kansas City’s bus service will expand this summer, temporarily, to meet higher demand during the FIFA World Cup.

In particular, several east-west routes will see longer hours and more frequency during June and July to help link riders to the streetcar and the World Cup Fan Fest on the grounds of the National WWI Museum and Memorial.

And the bus agency will stage buses to handle potential overflow crowds or delays on the streetcar, among other improvements through the Kansas City Area Transit Authority (KCATA) during the World Cup.

That’s all on top of the separate shuttle service for the World Cup through event organizer KC2026 to move fans from points around the region to Fan Fest and Arrowhead Stadium.

The expanded KCATA city bus service will start June 7 and end July 11, a KCATA spokesperson told The Star.

That’s shortly after bus fares, which went away in 2020, are set to return June 1. Officials say the best way for visitors to pay for fares would be through the RideKCGO app, which is anticipated to go live the week of May 25.

Single rides will be $2. For riders using the same form of payment for rides, fares will be capped at the cost of a day pass: $4.

Bus routes within Kansas City, Missouri that will have expanded hours and run until 2 a.m. during the World Cup include:

• 12, which runs along Hardesty Avenue and 12th Street, connecting with the Metro Center streetcar stop.
• 24, which runs along Independence Avenue and loops through downtown via Main Street.
• 31, which runs along 31st Street and connects with the Union Hill streetcar stop.
• 39, which runs along 39th Street and connects with the Westport streetcar stop.
• 47, which runs from KU Med, through the Country Club Plaza and along Emanuel Cleaver II Boulevard/Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Boulevard, including a stop near the Plaza streetcar stop.
• 63, which runs along 63rd Street.
• 201, which runs from Zona Rosa, along Barry Road, down North Oak Trafficway and through downtown and the Crossroads to Crown Center, passing multiple streetcar stops along the way.

Bus routes in Kansas City that will see increased frequency during the World Cup include:

• 12, which will run every 30 minutes.
• 39, which will run every 20 minutes.
• 47, which will run every 30 minutes.
• 63, which will run every 30 minutes.

KCATA’s World Cup work in Kansas City city limits — which will also include overtime, wayfinding signage and other items — to maintain and expand service will be covered through federal World Cup funds, adjusting some grant funding and moving some capital dollars from the Prospect MAX project.

The temporary World Cup expansion comes as another round of route cuts are expected to begin Sept. 6 as the bus agency has faced financial struggles for years.

Among the cuts: routes 9, 21, 23, 25, 27, 57 and 71 will be eliminated. Routes 12 and 210 will lose weekend service, according to KCATA documents.

Routes 12, 18, 31 and 35 will see reduced frequency. The Troost MAX line, however, will see increased frequency.