Kansas City Area Transportation Authority
The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) is a public transit agency in metropolitan Kansas City. It operates the Metro Area Express (MAX) bus rapid transit service in Kansas City, Missouri, and 78 local bus routes in seven counties of Missouri and Kansas. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 12,006,600, about 38,000 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2023.
Kansas City Area Transportation Authority bus in RideKC livery | |
| Founded | 1969 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | 1200 E. 18th Street Kansas City, Missouri 1701 W. Old 56 Hwy Olathe, Kansas |
| Service area | Kansas City Metro Area |
| Service type | Bus service Express bus service Bus rapid transit Paratransit |
| Routes | 78 Bus routes 6 MetroFlex routes 3 Bus rapid transit routes 1 Streetcar Line |
| Stops | 6,504 Bus Stops 113 MAX Stations |
| Fleet | 300 buses 31 MAX buses |
| Daily ridership | 38,000 (weekdays, Q4 2023) |
| Annual ridership | 12,006,600 (2023) |
| Website | ridekc kcata |
The KCATA is a bi-state agency formed by an interstate compact between Kansas and Missouri in 1965–6. Authorized by both states' legislatures and an act of Congress, the agency's jurisdiction includes Cass, Clay, Jackson and Platte counties in Missouri and Johnson, Leavenworth and Wyandotte counties in Kansas. The agency is governed by a board of ten commissioners, five from each state. Operations began in 1969, when the KCATA took over bus routes previously run by the Kansas City Public Service Company.
In 2014, KCATA, Johnson County Transit, UG Transit and IndeBus announced that all services would be merged into one service, RideKC by 2019. The Johnson County, KS Commissioners pulled out of KCATA management agreement effective August 1, 2022 but retained the partnership with the regional RideKC transit branding and planning.