‘A tremendous blow’: What bus route cuts could mean for Wyandotte County neighborhoods

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Every weekday morning, the Route 118 bus begins its 9-mile trek through Kansas City, Kansas, transporting passengers to workplaces and shops along the 18th Street corridor.

Running north and south between Quindaro Boulevard and the Mission Transit Center in Johnson County, the bus carried roughly 22,000 passengers last year.

But riders who rely on the route face adjusting commutes in 2025. It is one of two in Kansas City, Kansas, up for elimination. As federal COVID-19 relief dried up, and elected commissioners decided to cap property tax revenue earlier this year, UG Transit is evaluating cuts to fixed route service to make ends meet.

Service cuts were a discouraging prospect for neighborhood leaders, riders and a bus driver who spoke to The Star.

On a recent afternoon, Keeley Craddock was taking the 18th Street bus back from work at a laundromat in the Argentine neighborhood. She began using the route regularly about six months ago, following medical advice to avoid driving after a seizure in March.

“I hope they don’t get rid of it,” Craddock said.

Marc Buckner, a UG Transit employee driving the 18th Street route for about a year, said most of the passengers he picks up are on their way to and from work. Many use the bus as a connection point to Roeland Park and Mission in Johnson County.

“It’s gonna be devastating for Wyandotte County,” Buckner said during a brief layover at Quindaro Boulevard.

Mario Escobar, a past president of the Villa Argentine Neighborhood Association, said the proposal to cut the service is a source of disappointment for KCK neighborhood leaders.

“It would be a tremendous blow to this community here in Argentine, because so many people don’t have resourceful transportation to get to other parts of the Greater Kansas City area,” Escobar said. “And they rely tremendously on the bus system.”

Joan DeMoss, a resident of the Prescott neighborhood, said she and neighbors rely on the 18th Street bus to get to the stores and restaurants in Prescott Plaza and the Roeland Park Shopping Center, which include a Sun Fresh, Walmart, Price Chopper and Lowe’s, among others.

Also on the chopping block is Leavenworth Road. A plan that would expand that east-west bus by extending the Quindaro Boulevard route would keep intact access to 62nd Street. But the route would no longer take passengers to The Legends shopping center out west.

During an interview with The Star earlier this month, Unified Government Transportation Director Deasiray Bush said the proposed service cuts aim to address a $2.4 million budget shortfall.

Five of the nine fixed routes in Wyandotte County are run by UG Transit, with the remainder contracted under the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority.

Local transit leaders are also looking at taking over two routes contracted by KCATA. It is another decision that could save the financially constrained department money, Bush said, as bringing the routes under UG Transit would cost less.

Officials selected 18th Street and Leavenworth Road for cuts based on lower passenger counts. They ranked fifth and third, respectively, in terms of riders last year, according to data provided by the Unified Government.

By comparison, the highest traffic route run by UG Transit is Central Avenue, which carried roughly 65,000 passengers in 2023.

As fixed routes face cutbacks next year, the Unified Government is also promoting microtransit to fill gaps . While the fixed route buses remain fare-free, the RideKC On-Demand service costs $3 per trip.

The service is currently available in Midtown with plans for expansion to the east, Bush said, ultimately covering roughly half the county. But the program is a pilot funded through grants, so public support will be necessary to keep it going, she said.

Bush acknowledged an inconvenience to some residents who use the fixed routes facing elimination — but she said the department remains committed to providing quality public transit to those who need it. She said demographic data was considered from the American Community Survey that identifies areas where residents lack access to a vehicle and have lower incomes, including areas in Northeast Kansas City, Kansas.

“We want to make sure we’re keeping routes in the core area in need, especially the northeast area of Wyandotte County,” she said. “It was never our intent, our goal, to eliminate services in the core area of our county, which is east of (Interstate) 635.”

Bush will present plans outlining future options for the bus service during a hearing of the Unified Government’s Neighborhood and Community Development Standing Committee on Sept. 30. Residents will have the opportunity to provide public comment.

Meanwhile, David Johnson, chair of the Kansas City Regional Transit Alliance, a nonprofit group that advocates for public transportation, said service cuts are a recurring problem for governments without dedicated funding. Of the cities in the region, only Kansas City, Missouri, has a transit tax.

Johnson said the Unified Government could do a better job considering alternative revenue sources, including through a local sales tax supported by residents outside the county.

“That’s something that we hope the county would consider as sort of a longer-term strategy to end this sort of cycle of annual service reductions and cuts that affect the community, because it’s up against other priorities in the budget,” Johnson said.