Lessons From Kansas City, a Pioneer of Microtransit
Also today: NYC’s aging bus terminal gets approval for $10 billion revamp, and drones help forest managers fight wildfires.
In 2017, Kansas City Area Transportation Authority president and CEO Robbie Makinen launched RideKC Freedom, an earlier microtransit program.
Photographer: Keith Myers/Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
Kansas City, Missouri, was among the first US cities to embrace microtransit, a buzzy public transportation innovation that promised to combine the convenience of ride-hailing with the low fares of regular transit. In 2016, the city’s transport agency experimented with the now-defunct startup Bridj to provide on-demand shuttle rides alongside fixed-route bus service, before launching its own publicly funded program a few years later. Door-to-door rides can currently be hailed via a mobile app, and most fares cost $3.
But has microtransit lived up to its hype? We asked Frank White III, CEO of the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, to reflect on the city’s experience and offer insights for other officials that might be looking to launch similar programs. His account of the trendy mode’s true costs and benefits might read more like a cautionary tale. Read his conversation with contributor David Zipper today on CityLab: Kansas City Looks Back on its Long, Costly Ride With Microtransit