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Private company

Kansas City Area Transportation Authority

Logo: Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

Public transit agency in metropolitan Kansas City

The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) is a public transit agency in metropolitan Kansas City. It operates the Metro Area Express (MAX) bus rapid transit service in Kansas City, Missouri, and 78 local bus routes in seven counties of Missouri and Kansas. In 2025, the system had a ridership of 11,615,300, about 30,200 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2026.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1969Founded1

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RideKC Bus 5210
Photo: JLiu1596, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons4

The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) is a public transit agency in metropolitan Kansas City. It operates the Metro Area Express (MAX) bus rapid transit service in Kansas City, Missouri, and 78 local bus routes in seven counties of Missouri and Kansas. In 2025, the system had a ridership of 11,615,300, about 30,200 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2026.2

How it started

History

The KCATA is a bi-state agency formed by an interstate compact between Kansas and Missouri in 1965–6. Authorized by both states' legislatures and an act of Congress, the agency's jurisdiction includes Cass, Clay, Jackson and Platte counties in Missouri and Johnson, Leavenworth and Wyandotte counties in Kansas. The agency is governed by a board of ten commissioners, five from each state. Operations began in 1969, when the KCATA took over bus routes previously run by the Kansas City Public Service Company.

In 2014, KCATA, Johnson County Transit, UG Transit, and IndeBus announced that all services would be merged into one service, RideKC by 2019. The Johnson County, KS Commissioners pulled out of the KCATA management agreement effective August 1, 2022, but retained the partnership with the regional RideKC transit branding and planning.

From Wikipedia’s article on Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2

Timeline

  1. 1969Founded Founded1

Funding

Where the company's money came from, by calendar year: private offerings filed with the SEC, federal grants, loans, contracts and other assistance from USAspending.gov, and PPP loans from the SBA. Each bar links to the records below.

Money received by year$781.4M 2008–2026
Money received by yearMoney received by year, 2008–2026: $781.4M in all. Federal grants $776.7M; Federal contracts $4.8M.$0$50M$100M$150M2008 · Federal grants: $28.9M2008 · Federal contracts: $711.4K20082009 · Federal grants: $13.2M2009 · Federal contracts: $766.0K2010 · Federal grants: $28.5M2010 · Federal contracts: $837.4K20102011 · Federal grants: $21.3M2011 · Federal contracts: $1.1M2012 · Federal grants: $15.5M2012 · Federal contracts: $1.4M20122013 · Federal grants: $27.6M2014 · Federal grants: $23.3M2014 · Federal contracts: $10.4K20142015 · Federal grants: $19.7M2016 · Federal grants: $21.6M2016 · Federal contracts: $3.7K20162017 · Federal grants: $40.5M2018 · Federal grants: $64.5M20182019 · Federal grants: $24.6M2020 · Federal grants: $77.8M20202021 · Federal grants: $64.5M2022 · Federal grants: $112.9M20222023 · Federal grants: $20.4M2024 · Federal grants: $43.9M20242025 · Federal grants: $77.6M2026 · Federal grants: $50.3M2026
Figures by year
YearFederal grantsFederal contractsTotal
2026$50.3M–$50.3M
2025$77.6M–$77.6M
2024$43.9M–$43.9M
2023$20.4M–$20.4M
2022$112.9M–$112.9M
2021$64.5M–$64.5M
2020$77.8M–$77.8M
2019$24.6M–$24.6M
2018$64.5M–$64.5M
2017$40.5M–$40.5M
2016$21.6M$3.7K$21.6M
2015$19.7M–$19.7M
2014$23.3M$10.4K$23.3M
2013$27.6M–$27.6M
2012$15.5M$1.4M$16.9M
2011$21.3M$1.1M$22.4M
2010$28.5M$837.4K$29.4M
2009$13.2M$766.0K$14.0M
2008$28.9M$711.4K$29.7M

Federal awards

Obligated amounts from USAspending.gov5, by calendar year, 2008–2026, for its registration. Obligations are what agencies committed, not always what was paid out. Contracts pay for goods and services; grants, loans and direct payments are assistance. Loans are charted at the face value of the loans listed here. An award’s amount below is its lifetime total, and some began before the years charted.

Largest grants

  1. Jul 22, 2022$66.1M from Federal Transit Administration: Federal Transit Formula Grants6 To KANSAS CITY AREA TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY Award MO-2022-021
  2. Jun 10, 2020$51.3M from Federal Transit Administration: Federal Transit Formula Grants7 To KANSAS CITY AREA TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY Award MO-2020-017
  3. Aug 14, 2025$36.7M from Federal Transit Administration: Federal Transit Formula Grants; Buses And Bus Facilities Formula, Competitive, And Low Or No Emissions Programs8 To KANSAS CITY AREA TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY Award MO-2025-025
  4. Apr 9, 2018$36.6M from Federal Transit Administration: Federal Transit Capital Investment Grants; Federal Transit Formula Grants9 To KANSAS CITY AREA TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY Award MO-2018-004
  5. $36.5M from Federal Transit Administration: Federal Transit Formula Grants10 To KANSAS CITY AREA TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY Award MO-2017-026
  6. Sep 2, 2021$35.6M from Federal Transit Administration: Federal Transit Formula Grants11 To KANSAS CITY AREA TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY Award MO-2021-031
  7. Aug 15, 2023$28.5M from Federal Transit Administration: Federal Transit Formula Grants12 To KANSAS CITY AREA TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY Award MO-2023-028
  8. Sep 2, 2020$19.1M from Federal Transit Administration: Federal Transit Formula Grants; Buses And Bus Facilities Formula, Competitive, And Low Or No Emissions Programs13 To KANSAS CITY AREA TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY Award MO-2020-038

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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