Johnson County is raising rates for its increasingly popular micro transit service.
Fares for micro transit, which works like a ride-hailing service such as Uber, will go up in the new year.
This comes as public transportation ridership patterns in Johnson County have changed in recent years, with a dramatic spike in demand for micro transit even as use of some more traditional bus routes has fallen.
The change goes into effect on Jan. 1
- Depending on the zone, micro transit currently costs users $3 or $5 each way.
- Starting on Jan. 1, 2024, micro transit users will be charged $5 for the first five miles and an additional $2 for miles 5.1 and over.
- The increase is “based on a review of ridership trends, the 2024 program budget increasing ridership demands and service efficiency,” according to a Dec. 15 press release.
- Johnson County Transit is making no changes to the service area or to the hours of operation for micro transit.
Micro transit fares previously increased, as well
- The micro transit fare started out at $1.50, but after the micro transit program expanded, the county increased it to $3 or $5, depending on the destination.
- Josh Powers, the county transit director, previously told the board of county commissioners that the department expected the first fare increase to cause micro transit ridership to fall — but instead it exploded.
- Compared to the third quarter of 2019, micro transit ridership is up 407% in 2023, according to Powers’ presentation to the board in October.
- Riders book micro transit trips from Johnson County to downtown Kansas City daily, Powers told the commission in October.
Johnson County is looking to study mass transit
- Johnson County is constantly looking at ridership and expenses associated with its transportation services, Chairman Mike Kelly said in a Dec. 15 press release.
- The micro transit fare increase stems from the board’s direction to staff to develop a long-term strategic plan for transportation services, he said.
- “And in the interim, we believe this new fare structure will remain extremely competitive with other services while also making micro transit more reliable and consistent,” Kelly said.
- Last month, the county commission voted to cut three under-used bus routes, a move that county says will save more than $830,000 a year.
Go deeper: Any other announcements and changes can be found online here.
