In an effort to secure rides for thousands of FIFA World Cup visitors before prices go up, Johnson County commissioners have agreed to lease fifty shuttle buses for two summers from now.
The fleet of 50 Ford F650 Glaval Concorde III vehicles — which each can carry up to 35 passengers each — may not totally cover the county’s transit needs while the international tournament is in town in 2026, but “it was as many as we could get,” said Josh Powers, the county transit director.
“Nationally there’s a rush on to procure vehicles and to get in line for vehicles not yet built,” Powers told commissioners at their meeting Thursday.
He urged the commission to make an exception to usual competition rules and lock down the agreement with Master’s Transportation for the lease. The Belton, Missouri-based company has been a reliable vendor in the past, according to staff notes.
The agreement’s details
The $1.5 million lease will use $1.2 million in federal funding with a local match of $300,000, which will be covered by reserves in the county transit budget.
Masters will get a 10% deposit of $150,000, which is fully refundable if the agreement is canceled on or before Jan. 1, 2026.
If the county cancels between Jan. 1 and Feb. 28, 2026, the refund would be 50%. On or after March 1, 2026, no refund will be available.
A call for more transportation
Kansas City is one of the host cities for the World Cup, and six games will be played at Arrowhead Stadium at the Truman Sports Complex over six weeks from June through July of that summer.
In addition, the Sheraton Hotel in Overland Park will be one national team’s base camp for the event, and numerous tournament-related events are likely to take place in Johnson County.
That adds up to thousands of people coming in from all over the world and it is creating a scramble for all manner of vehicles, according to staff notes.
Earlier this year, the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority and the Mid-America Regional Council released a study that recommended new bus routes, including one in Johnson County, to get visitors to and from the new Kansas City International Airport. So far that has not happened.
Commissioner comments
The majority of commissioners at last week’s meeting supported the lease arrangement as a step in addressing the transportation needs of visitors while maintaining the needs of the county.
Commissioner Michael Ashcraft noted that while 50 buses sounds like a lot, the Ford vehicles are smaller than full-size buses.
Fares and routes of the leased buses will be determined by the commission after the transit staff have studied how to deploy them.
Commissioner Charlotte O’Hara was the only vote against the bus lease among the seven commissioners. She also opposed the county’s $1.5 million contribution to the metro organizing committee for preparations two months ago.
“It seems to me Kansas City, Missouri, when they put forth the proposal to have the World Cup should have thought some of these issues through,” O’Hara said.
Chairman Mike Kelly said the county is right to get the buses procured early so the county will be ready for it.
“This will be the biggest sports event in the history of the world, and I don’t say that hyperbolically,” he said.
Although the event is predicted to bring an economic windfall for the area, “it will be us stretching the limits of our infrastructure,” he said.
