Johnson County started airport bus service ahead of World Cup. It’s closing down early

Johnson County’s airport bus service has received good ratings from riders.

But the pilot program is expected to end about two months earlier than planned because of a lack of funding.

The Johnson County United Airport Drop and Ride service makes three stops along its route: Lenexa City Center, Overland Park Convention Center and the Kansas City International Airport.

The free bus runs every 30 minutes until July 16 and every 60 minutes starting July 17 during its hours of operation until the end of the program.

A $2 million federal grant from the Federal Highway Administration’s Congestion Mitigation Air Quality Improvement Program has been the main source of funding, and the county, Overland Park and Lenexa also each contributed $200,000.

Officials said the funds have been used faster than anticipated, partially because of fuel costs.

Johnson County airport bus service

The service has been well-received in its first month of operation, with about 95% of riders rating it as excellent and about 98% saying they would recommend it to a friend, according to a statement from Mike Kelly, chairman of the Board of County Commissioners.

“We’ve delivered the service that we promised while gathering valuable insights for the future,” said Justus Welker, interim director of the county transit division.

However, the amount of available funding has limited the length of the program.

The service is expected to end Sept. 20, Welker said.

While the county has said the bus system would continue as long as funds allowed, it had projected the service would run until Nov. 30 when Overland Park and Lenexa approved the plans — over two months later than the current end date.

“Johnson County United was built as a pilot — an experiment in what enhanced transit could look like for our county, prompted by the opportunity of hosting FIFA World Cup 2026 matches,” Kelly said in an emailed statement.

Although the pilot was “prompted” by the global soccer tournament — Kansas City ranked second to last of host cities in terms of public transportation — preliminary analysis on ridership suggests the service has mostly been used by county residents for travel unrelated to the World Cup.

Ridership numbers

From June 1 to the July 4 weekend, there were 3,350 riders, 77% of whom live in Johnson County.

Most riders (73%) used the shuttle to catch flights to vacation and personal travel destinations. The second-highest travel purpose was business travel, followed by transport for World Cup-related events at 9% of ridership and for other special events.

Riders suggested having opportunities to park near the bus stations for the duration of their trip instead of needing to be dropped off and picked up from the stops, which Welker said will not be incorporated into the rest of the pilot but may be a consideration in the future.

For now, Welker said Johnson County has added marketing for the service and information about where to find its stops following feedback from riders.

A full analysis of the pilot is expected in November, Welker said, which he expects will factor into discussions about whether to make the route permanent and the county’s “future mobility opportunities.”

“Whatever the final ridership numbers show, this was never just about the (34) days of the tournament,” Kelly said. “It’s about building the case for what a more robust, more frequent transit system could mean for Johnson County long after the World Cup is over.”