The Liberty City Council has just voted to allocate more money to upgrade the city’s lone express bus route (69X) from 20-passenger to 40-passenger buses. The two rush hour trips to Downtown are currently standing room only, and residents have been asking the city to fund more capacity. Liberty city officials had asked neighboring suburbs to chip in some money, since at least 30% of riders come from parts of Clay County outside Liberty.  When their neighbors balked, the Liberty City Council stepped and took one for the team, funding the full cost.

Liberty joins Lee’s Summit, which also recently ponied up more money to expand capacity of overcrowded buses.  This is yet another example of why our region so badly needs a regionally-funded transit system that can respond to such changes in ridership and demand.

Related:

• Liberty Tribune: Liberty agrees to fund larger bus.
• Let’s Go KC: Lee’s Summit adds fourth bus to Downtown.
• Smart Moves Regional Transit Vision.

Liberty agrees to fund larger bus
$1,995 provides 20 more seats to downtown K.C.

By Angie Anaya Borgedalen
Liberty Tribune
Thursday, July 31, 2008 1:40 AM CDT

Liberty Mayor Bob Steinkamp didn’t have much luck passing a hat around to eastern Clay County cities in hopes of getting them to pitch in and help fund a larger express bus to Kansas City, so Liberty decided to front the money itself.

The council voted unanimously Monday, July 28, to kick in $1,995 to fund a larger bus to alleviate overcrowding.

Steinkamp said Liberty had to let the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority know by the end of July whether the city planned to trade a 20-passenger bus now in service for a second 40-passenger bus to help alleviate standing-room-only on the daily commute from Liberty to downtown Kansas City and back.

Phyllis Carlyle, a longtime bus rider from Liberty, said there was definitely a relationship between the price of gas and the number of passengers.

“I’m getting to the bus stop 15 or 20 minutes early, and I’m still having to stand,” Carlyle said. “I’ve tracked it. As the price of gas goes up, so does the number of riders.”

Liberty currently pays $37,447 to subsidize the bus service. The ATA said it would cost an additional $1,995 to upgrade to the larger bus for the last quarter of the year. Bus service is scheduled to start out of the Shoal Creek Valley area just west of Liberty in January, which Steinkamp said could ease overcrowding.

“We’re not asking to pay less. We’re just asking for someone else to help pay that extra $2,000 for this short-term fix,” Steinkamp said. “I don’t think Liberty should pay it.”

According to Shawna Funderburk, assistant to the city administrator, approximately 60 to 70 percent of the bus riders are from Liberty. The other riders arriving in Liberty to board the buses are from rural Clay County, Kansas City, Kearney, Excelsior Springs and other outlying areas.

Steinkamp recently issued an invitation to county commissioners and mayors from Claycomo, Excelsior Springs, Glenaire, Kearney, Lawson, Missouri City, Mosby and Pleasant Valley to a meeting July 22 to discuss overcrowding on the two buses that leave and return to Liberty weekdays from downtown Kansas City.

Only the three county commissioners, who have been heavily involved in regional transportation issues, and a representative from Kearney, David Pavlich, community development director, showed up. Several Liberty council members also attended the meeting.

Pavlich said he would take the request back to the Kearney mayor and council for consideration. Commissioners took no action on the funding at a meeting Monday, July 28.

Steinkamp said eventually buses would be one component of a regional intermodal transportation system serving the Kansas City metropolitan area.

“This is a very important issue, not just for Liberty but for the entire metropolitan area,” Steinkamp said. “We have to stay engaged for the betterment of everybody.”

FIND OUT MORE:

For more information on bus service and a regional transit proposal for Clay, Jackson and Platte counties, visit www.kcsmartmoves.org.

Liberty Editor Angie Anaya Borgedalen can be reached at 781-4941 or aborgedalen@npgco.com.