KCATA announced recently that it’s ending the Gladstone-Antioch Flex route, and all other bus stops in Gladstone will be discontinued beginning September 1.Īccording to a statement released by the city of Gladstone, its contract with the KCATA nearly quadrupled in price - increasing from about $87,000 to $340,000 per year for bus, flex and paratransit services. However, there are some concerns that IRIS could result in less access to public transportation, not more. RideKC Map of IRIS zones and transfer points Just five bus routes serviced Northland neighborhoods, compared to 26 south of the river. Even though bus fare is currently free in Kansas City, only 13% of low-income households are near a transit route. KCATA launched IRIS as a way to fill the gaps in the city’s public transportation systems. And some Kansas City residents worry that IRIS is pulling attention and funding away from mass transit. However, there are rising concerns about the efficiency of these on-demand services, even as they grow in popularity. “What’s unique about IRIS is this is the first one that I know of that is covering a city, the whole city, of this size,” says Tyler Means, chief mobility officer for the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA). IRIS stands out as one of the largest on-demand public transit services, or microtransit, in the country.

This is the future of city-wide transit across the globe,” says assistant city manager Melissa Kozakiewicz, who helped launch the program. “This is the direction that transit is moving in.

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