KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City, Missouri's Main Street Max bus route will be discontinued in two weeks as the city prepares to launch its new streetcar extension, creating a brief gap in service for riders.
The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority will end the Main Street Max service on Oct. 19, with the new Main Street streetcar extension opening five days later on Oct. 24.
The route discontinuation came as news to some riders, including James, who uses the service regularly.
"I didn't know it was closing, actually," James said. "But I don't use it too often, well, I guess I use it enough that that would be a slight concern."
KCATA officials say the Main Street Max will be retired to avoid duplicating services with the new streetcar route. AJ Farris, director of planning and scheduling with KCATA, described the transition as exciting for public transit in the city.
"So, we're really, really excited that the Main Max has been that important spine to the system for so long," Farris said. "And now, we're excited to celebrate the opening of the Main Street streetcar extension, but we're also looking at this like a retirement party for the Main Max that was so important and integral to Kansas City transit."
To accommodate the change, KCATA will launch a new North-South route and modify three existing routes to help riders connect to the streetcar system.
"The exciting one is route 50, which we're calling the Wornall/Brookside connector, will be a 20-minute frequency, meaning a bus will come to a stop every 20 minutes," Farris said. "That will serve the southern portion of Wornall and then connect over to the 75th and Troost transit center, which provides an important East-West connection."
The agency will also change the 24 Independence, 35 35th Street and 47 Broadway routes. The downtown portion of the 24 route, which runs east into Independence, will now travel north-south along Main Street instead of Grand Boulevard. The 24 is one of KCATA's highest ridership routes with the highest frequencies.
Route 35 will change south of Armour Boulevard. Instead of traveling along Main Street to Westport Road and Roanoke Parkway, it will go to the Plaza along Broadway Boulevard.
Despite initial concerns about the change, James said the streetcar should adequately replace the bus service.
"I mean, if the streetcar takes its place, I think that will be fine," James said.
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