A dozen or so unsuspecting public transportation riders in Kansas City, Kan., shared a bus ride with two prominent local politicians Tuesday morning.
Unified Government Mayor/CEO Joe Reardon and U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore (D-3rd District) boarded a Kansas City Area Transportation Authority bus in downtown KCK en route to Village West for a discussion with business and community leaders about the importance of public transportation.
The bus, the route and passengers were similar to what a typical public transportation rider would experience on their way to work or activities.
“The real-world and first-hand experience is critical,” Reardon said. “We know it by the numbers, but seeing is much different.”
The bus ride – which took roughly an hour and included a transfer stop at Indian Springs – and transportation meeting come on the heels of a recently-completed public transit study completed by Olsson Associates that called for the creation of a bus rapid transit line along KCK’s State Avenue corridor.
Though that study has been completed, the group just recently secured a $1.5 million Federal grant to design specific components of the system. The funds were secured by Moore.
“A lot of Americans are starting to rethink the energy and transportation question,” Moore said. “There’s a real need for public transportation in this area.”
Help from Moore – and the rest of the Kansas delegation – will likely be needed again in the future to help pay for the capital costs of implementing the Bus Rapid Transit, or BRT, line. Olsson estimates that initial costs to get the system operational could eclipse $30 million.
“There are some earmarks that should never happen,” Moore said. “But I will never apologize for getting earmarks for public transportation in areas like KCK.”
Reardon says he’d direct UG staff to explore all funding avenues to help pay for the ongoing operation of the BRT line, which has been estimated to cost $3 million per year.
“This is essential economic development,” the mayor said. “We need to take these steps.”
In the interim, Reardon announced during the bus ride that the UG will begin a Sunday demonstration service on Sept. 28. The service will replicate current service levels offered on Saturdays.
“We need to spend more on transit,” he said. “Buses are critical to our future.”
The demonstration service will be funded through air quality grants obtained through the Mid-America Regional Council.
“We had to fight hard for those funds,” UG Transit Director Marcia Bernard said. “We’ll see how it goes.”
That point was echoed at the end of the bus trip during a meeting at a Village West restaurant.
Edward Lipsett, Nebraska Furniture Mart director of human resources, said poor public transportation offerings late at night and during the weekend affect the retailer’s ability to hire employees.
“The (lack of) transportation is a big reason we can’t keep employees out here,” Lipsett said.
With more large employment projects on the horizon – among them Schlitterbahn’s Vacation Village Water Park, the destination resort casino and Plaza at the Speedway – getting employees from the opposite side of Wyandotte County and from other parts of the Kansas City metropolitan area will be critical.
“It’s an exciting time for transportation in Wyandotte County,” Mark Swope, an author on the Olsson study, said.
Reardon said an added benefit could come from any one of the three KCK casino proposals. All three have committed to building circulator transit systems that could connect with the future BRT line to help transport tourists, locals and employees.
Swope says if his team is able to efficiently engineer KCK’s BRT – which would be similar in appearance and service level to Kansas City, Mo.’s Main Street BRT line – and secure federal funding for capital costs, the line could be operational by 2011.
“We have every confidence that will happen,” Swope said.
Reardon also said he hopes public transportation becomes a more important regional issue, especially given the change in national leadership this fall.
“We understand the need for later-in-the-evening services, but if we talk about that, it’s going to involve the entire region,” Reardon said. “We have to have an interconnected bus service in the metro area.”
