There are nearly 3,000 bus stops across the Kansas City metro, run by both the Kansas City Transportation Authority and Johnson County Transit. But only 20% of them have a bench. Even fewer stops, only 10%, have a shelter.
That's been controversial for riders and transit activists who want everyone to be able to sit down and take shelter from the elements when they ride the bus. Both transit agencies have recently approved plans that call for them to add more benches and shelters to their stops and get more feedback about where riders want amenities.
AJ Farris, the director of planning and scheduling for the KCATA, said the agency can't put amenities at every stop because they're so expensive to install and maintain.
"We have to be very purposeful and intentional with where we put those investments," Farris said. "We want to understand what the community thinks, because we can't just look at numbers and thresholds. We have to understand the context of the community — that's important to us."
KCUR compiled information from both the Kansas City and Johnson County transit agencies to see exactly which stops have amenities. Use the map below to see which stops have benches and shelters, or none at all, and which lines the amenities are located on.
Hold ctrl while scrolling to zoom in or out on the map. Click on the icons to tailor the display to a bus agency or type of amenity.
Demanding more benches
Sunrise Movement KC, a climate activist group, has been demanding a better bus system for years. In its Better Buses initiative, announced in 2023, the group called for every bus stop to have a bench and shelter. The group has been building DIY wooden benches and placing them around area stops.
The group says it's put out more than 50 benches so far, but most of them have been removed by the KCATA. The transit agency calls the benches a liability and says only agency-approved and -maintained benches can be at stops. That hasn't stopped Sunrise, which continues to build benches and put 30 of them at stops this month.
The Kansas City Council is also stepping in to protect benches at bus stops.
The council approved more than $13 million in funding for the KCATA and the city's rideshare service, IRIS. One provision of that funding forbids the bus agency from removing benches at bus stops or replacing them with "leaning benches" without the approval of city council. It also requires the KCATA to replace its current leaning benches, which have been unpopular with riders, with seated ones.
A representative for the KCATA told KCUR the agency has removed 70 benches since 2022, mostly from areas like Independence and Gladstone, where a stop was removed entirely because the city ended its service. But in some areas, like downtown, benches were removed because of complaints about loitering from developers and the police.
More amenities on KCATA routes are on the way
The KCATA board of commissioners approved new bus stop guidelines in December. The plan calls for a standard bench at every MAX line stop, regardless of ridership. It calls for a shelter at MAX stops with more than 25 riders and a second shelter at stops with more than 150 riders.
On arterial and community lines, the KCATA plan calls for a bench at stops that have 25-49 riders. For stops that have 15-24 riders, the plan calls for a "post-mounted seat," a smaller fixture that includes two separate seats attached to a pole. The guidelines also allow leaning benches at stops with 15-49 riders, but Kansas City's restrictions would require the KCATA to get approval before putting them at any stop in city limits.
A shelter is necessary on arterial and community routes when a stop has more than 50 riders, according to the guidelines. A second shelter would come when the stop reaches 150 riders.
Farris said the KCATA works with community members and private partnerships to add amenities when stops don't meet the guidelines.
"We don't just stop at 'this stop has 150 riders a day, and so that means it gets X, Y and Z,'" Farris said. "There's a little bit more nuance to it. A stop that's right by a veterans hospital might not meet the ridership threshold, but we understand that there might be a need, based on the clientele that uses that stop, for a bench or a shelter."
Farris said the KCATA plans to start implementing the guidelines and adding more seating as soon as next year. He said the agency has already gotten more than 20 shelters to add to its routes. The KCATA report is not so optimistic.
"In reality, there are insufficient capital and staff resources to add amenities to all stops in a short term timeframe," the report said. "Constrained primarily by money and staff time, KCATA must be strategic in the provision of bus stop amenities to do the most good for the most people, in the effort to provide some level of amenities at all stops over time."
Riders can submit feedback about their bus stop and request amenities on the KCATA's website.
Johnson County bus riders could soon see improvements
Johnson County Transit adopted its strategic plan in November. It does not give specific ridership numbers that would require amenities, but calls for the transit agency to tier stops based on the highest need and most used stops.
Tier 1 is the agency's highest priority, Tier 2 is "proactive" and includes stops that will get improvements as funding becomes available. The last, Tier 3, is "opportunistic" and calls for improvements to be addressed "when possible."
The strategic plan calls for Tier 1 bus stops to be improved by the end of 2026. Tier 2 and Tier 3 bus stops are scheduled to be improved beginning in 2028.
Justus Welker is the deputy director of Johnson County Transit. He said the agency will target stops that already have amenities that need to be replaced and will also prioritize what it considers mobility hubs, like the area around Johnson County Community College.
"I think every transit agency across the nation is in a similar space," Welker said. "We'd like to have a shelter every stop. But one, we probably don't have the money to do that. And two, we typically don't have the right of way or the space to be able to build that level of amenity at every stop within our service area."
Riders can submit feedback about where they'd like to see improvements on the agency's website. Welker said that will help Johnson County Transit prioritize where it puts new amenities.
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