By Kathy Feist
Participants were eager to discuss a Waldo bus route at the August 24th Sixth District Community meeting held at the Red Bridge Public Library, hosted by City Councilmembers Johnathan Duncan and Andrea Bough.
Featured speaker AJ Farris, Director of Planning & Scheduling for the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA), provided details on why the 50 Wornall-Brookside route was changed in July. The route that was created in 2025 transferred south Kansas City passengers from the Wornall-Brookside terminus to the Plaza/UMKC terminus. From there passengers connected with the streetcar that travels through Main Street.
After receiving input from the south Kansas City community, KCATA changed Route 50. The route now extends north of the Plaza, carrying passengers directly to the IRS building at 20th and Pershing. The IRS is a major employer in Kansas City, especially among those utilizing the bus system. Until its elimination in 2025, the Brookside-Main route was the primary route to the IRS for south Kansas City passengers.
“People, especially in the Sixth and the Fifth districts, really missed that connection, and so we identified an opportunity to make a change,” explained AJ Farris, Director of Planning & Scheduling for the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority.
But that change was not an issue at this August meeting. Two vocal south KC bus riders said buses have not been stopping at 74th Terrace, but at the QuikTrip at 72nd and Wornall.
For someone like Betsy Faubin who regularly uses the Route 50 bus to get to 75 Street and then catches the east/west bus to Troost, the one-third mile walk results in missed connections and delays.
“Disabled and elderly people on the east side of town are screwed,” said Faubin.
Currently Route 50 busses are unable to drop passengers off at the 74th Terrace and Wornall terminus. Heavy construction equipment blocks the bus stop near what was once The Well but is now being constructed into a 236-unit apartment complex at 74th and Broadway. Farris assured Faubin that the heavy construction equipment is in the process of being moved and by the end of September the 74th Terrace stop will become activated again.
Farris also mentioned that merchants around 74th Terrace had complained about the bus stop, preferring it be located elsewhere. “The Waldo area businesses were upset that some folks were essentially just getting off at that stop and creating a problem for their businesses,” said Farris. “Now that we are charging fares, there are fewer unruly passengers.”
Other participants at the meeting suggested improvements for benches, etc. Farris and Councilman Duncan, who is one of the commissioners for KCATA, said they would take all suggestions under consideration.
Also attending the meeting were Léon Romanazzi, Division Manager of Housing and Stephanie Hull, Senior Data Analyst, who requested that residents fill out an online survey to help shape the 2007-2021 Consolidated Housing Plan required by HUD in order to receive funding. The survey can be found at speakeasy.kcmo.gov.
