I visited KC for a few days and wanted to use public transportation. They have no subway, but the Metro bus system is good, with large, clean, air-conditioned (I went in August!) buses that go everywhere and arrive on time. The long rides I went on were only $1.50, or you can get an all-day pass for just $3.00 (as of 2016). There is also a downtown ultra-modern street tram that I think the day pass covers as well; I haven't ridden it yet. One oddity: the bus that goes to MCI (the larger, outlying airport) is called the "KCI" bus, KCI standing for Kansas City International. There is also a smaller downtown airport called MKC. This all confused me upon arrival, but it was soon obvious that KCI = MCI. Other than that, I highly recommend it. Good job, Kansas City! read more

The Metro - The street tram, looking very futuristic. Must ride this! - Public Transportation Near Me - Kansas City, Missouri

MAY 2024 - Rode the bus for the first time & was pleasantly surprised. Clean bus, helpful drivers, on time schedule. Can go from JoCo to Brookside KC easily. read more

The Metro - There's an app that you can use to find a route & track the ETA of the bus - super handy & easy to use! - Public Transportation Near Me - Kansas City, Missouri

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I wouldn't rate the 101 not 1 star that bus driver is rude and very disrespectful taking stuff to me and my kid told us we are not allowed to talk drink or eat it is currently 8:20 pm read more

The Metro - Public Transportation Near Me - Kansas City, Missouri

I used to have a friend named Ro. Have you ever Met Ro? The bus service in Kansas city is not great but it's better than a lot of cities in the South and West so good job to them for that. It doesn't match up to the wonderful public transportation in some cities such as New York and Boston and even DC of late but it's still pretty good. Considering the budget they have to work on their doing a pretty good job. They operate the KC Max Bus, which I've been on several times. I used to listen to "Give It Up" by KC And The Sunshine Band a lot, but I've had my fill of them now... I've reached my KC Max. read more

The Metro - I'm a little bus sy right now - Public Transportation Near Me - Kansas City, Missouri

First time coming here riding the bus and experiencing the transit in KC. I took the 316* red bus from the hospital in independence to the historic downtown of independence. I do love the price of the bus, bizarre locations and routing. The people on the bus are the most bizarre of any kind and I've been on the CTA but it's definitely not dangerous. The transfer stops do need security but you will have people smoking on the bus and having their own personal conversations out loud that shouldn't be said in a public setting especially in a very small vehicle. read more

Unhelpful lady driving bus 24 today,She would rather text on her phone instead of help riders. Always a black lady so rude and very PROFESSIONAL!!! read more

I've been in Kcmo a little over 20 years and today is the first time I've ever road a bus out here and I have to say Charles that drives the 75 route and Stella that drives the 28 route gave me the best experience that anyone can ask for! Thank Kcata for your very professional drivers! Ephrena Hoyett Eduece66@gmail.com read more

I had a terrible experience with the 5:30am metro bus driver at the new kci airport. She stopped at the Charter buses stop like they normally do, and one guy got off the bus from the back door of the bus and then I got on to go home from a long night at work up at the new kci airport terminal, then next thing you know she gets upset with me and says, "Hey, don't take the back door and sneak up on me like that!" And then she tells me to get off her bus and told me she'll be back for me. Huh??? And then she just takes off and leaves me in the dust. I didn't understand what I did wrong. I did the same thing on Friday morning with a different lady bus driver and she was completely cool about it as she thought it was completely normal and to get on the Metro bus the traditional way so that I could go home. i don't get it. Why can't all the metro bus drivers be on the same page with regards to how they operate? Is it normal to expect the unexpected when getting on the metro bus? I guess I'll have to take a cab home from now on since the metro bus seems to have unpredictable highly sensitive bus drivers. read more

Just waited for nearly an hour at 5th and Grand for the Main St. Max. Should've been by three times by then. Called the customer service line and was told the driver slipped the stop and would be written up. I got at the stop at 3:00. Bus should've been there by 3:26. Never showed again. Called customer service again and was told they would be there at 3:46. I asked, how can I trust that? Then I called to leave a complaint. It was only then that I was told the bus was rerouted and that's why it didn't stop by. I was out here in the heat and humidity with two kids the whole time. I called an Uber. I asked customer service if they would comp my ride since it was their negligence that caused the whole issue. They refused. I'm a tax paying resident of KC. I'd appreciate better service, but doubt I'll ever get it. I've literally lost a job because of how often buses don't show up when their supposed to. I was late every day for work even though I would leave the house a couple hours early. The system would continue to fail, consistently, over and over again. Free transit is great when rides show up and communication is clear and respectful. Most of the time that is not the case in KC. read more

Ya gotta love a bus stop called Petticoat Lane. This is a review of the MAX and it is damn good. That is not saying it is like a subway or even a light rail (in fact I think it is faster and more efficient than some newer 'light rails')-- in any case I wuz in the country club plaza area, bought a $3 day ticket, and got to go Union Station/Crown Plaza, then Downtown. The MAX system is easy to use, and I even used it to go 'round to different spots in Downtown. Like you would on a small subway, but just a bus overground. Why walk. I'm from outta town, I know nothing of KC, but I have been to plenty of cities around North America, (believe me--too many which suck at being cities--KC rocks at being a city) and you should be proud of the MAX system, and use it. Like I said I made stops along the way, but 22 min to go from country club plaza to downtown, that ain't bad. read more

Another situation where I'm not sure what's to complain about. As far as city bus systems go (I've ridden buses regularly in four or five different cities) it's not bad at all! The buses are clean, timely (at least as far as I've noticed), stops are a good distance apart, and the intercom announces stops every now and again. I haven't noticed any people I would particularly peg as homeless, but even if I did, I can't say I would care - they need to travel as much as anyone else, I would think. Bus drivers are friendly and people, for the most part, leave you alone. I think prices are fair, transferring is convenient. What more can you ask? read more

So it's come to this... You've decided to take the bus. Look, Kansas Citians love their cars like they love their barbecue. What that means is that more often than not, public transportation becomes the illegitimate child they made that one time with the chick they met at the Parliament Funkadelic concert. I'm not saying you have to pay KCTA's tuition, but it wouldn't hurt you to recognize it once in awhile, you know? I take the bus to work everyday. Often, I take it home. It's convenient because my work foots the bill. It's NOT convenient because after 7pm, the MAX runs once every 30 minutes. Since I'm a jackass who works until 7, I get to stand around until 7:25 to meet the evening bus. All in all, it makes for a long evening. This is my primary beef. Once, in the dead of winter (we're talking coldest day of the year, folks), the evening bus driver sped past me. This would have been excusable had I NOT BEEN STANDING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD AWAITING HIS ARRIVAL. I jumped up and down and screamed and flailed my arms and cursed God, as I knew it was he who was responsible for my misery. I called the 800 number on the placard and voiced my frustration-- you KNOW I was serious cause I never do that-- and the lady on the other end apologized, but 'axed' me, 'what m'I sposed to do?' Well, you can start by coming down here and picking my ass up, bitch. (is what I didn't say) Other than that, the MAX is pretty alright. Sure, there are a lot of smelly people (there is a hilariously disproportionate amount of homeless folk on the KC bus in comparison with any other cities mass-tranist system) but they mostly keep to themselves. In fact, I've never been approached in an unwarranted fashion. These are just people, trying to get somewhere they think they need to be (but probably don't)... You know, the free clinic, the Fast-Stop or another bus-stop. read more

This would be a much better review if I did not ride the bus on weekends. I live just off of a bus line and I get a bus pass. I used to ride the bus all the time in Des Moines and it has always been inconvenient since moving here (live in MO, worked in KS, or lived in KS.) Now that I live in an area where using the bus is an option, I love it. I save a ton of money on gas and maintenance. I don't have to deal with traffic or pay to park. It increases my activity level. I meet a lot of people I otherwise never would have. During the week the bus is pretty reliable. Weekends is another story. I am not sure what happens Friday night, but you can expect severely late buses or buses running way ahead of schedule, drivers who don't know the routes and either go the wrong way or miss stops, but generally friendlier than the weekday drivers. The metro works well for me. I think it gets a bad rep from people who don't use it. It also has challenges as an actual "metro" system. Some cohesion between the burbs is greatly needed, especially the Kansas side and Johnson County. read more

The buses in Kansas City spit out change cards when you feed it too much cash money. The buses in DC are happy to gobble up all your money, but never regurgitate anything back. Lame. Kansas City buses: 1 DC buses: 0 read more

Once upon a time I HAD to take the MAX. Those days are over, but as I was looking at my schedule today and realized that all of my appointments were in the Plaza, I decided that for nostalgia's sake I would once again ride some public transit. Now, in other cities I LOVE LOVE LOVE public transit, and I wish we had a better system here in KC. But alas we don't, so I learned to make due with what we have. Fortunately, living in the River Market, the MAX line was virtually right outside my door, and it travels through most areas I at all care about: downtown, the Crossroads, the Plaza, and even into Brookside and Waldo. I didn't really have to deal with the Metro system as a whole. Today's ride was great. Sure it took me a lot longer to get to where I needed, but I got to spend about 25 minutes each way jamming to tunes off my iphone and reading a book that i'm currently obsessed with. When your days are packed, packed, packed, it's a nice way to break things up. The buses are clean, and while full of characters are still quite safe. Also, the MAX at least is generally right on time. I feel for people who live in less accessible areas of town, or who have to get places outside of the system's limited hours. For them the system may very well be 2 star. For me, however a trip on the MAX is decidedly A-OK! read more

Ok so am I just stupid or is the Kansas City Transit system crap? I think its crap. Not owning a car I have to deal with the system on a regular basis to get from point a to point b. Its either I have to be hours early everywhere or a few minutes late. Most the time I stand and wait at the bus stop and the bus just drives on by like I was supposed to tag it down like a taxi in New York. Also I noticed that the prices are going up! If you are going to increase prices how about adding more routes and more stops? Kansas City needs to get up with the times. So if you move here with out a car you need to be prepared to spend most of your time trying to get to your destination. read more

I really love public transportation. I think that it is a privilege and should be treated as such. With the recent circumstances involving my vehicle (RIP), I just opted to taking advantage of our public transportation system rather than having to ask people for rides all the time. Now, depending on what bus you get on, it can either be very nice or very sketchy. Overall, the system is actually pretty decent. The MAX bus is way nicer than the Metro buses, and you get to where you need to go faster. It's just sad that KC's public transit gets all of its bad rap from the people who don't even use it. I will say, there are just a couple of drivers who don't seem to know their routes as well as they should, or they will just zoom past bus stops that have no one waiting, which causes the bus to run early. That's really the only thing I (or anyone else) can complain about. When it's convenient, it's $1.50 with an unlimited 2-hour transfer pass any day of the week. The online trip planner makes it very easy to find your route, and they have hundreds of bus stops all over town. Besides the bizarre citizens that you WILL see on here, there is nothing wrong with using this service. So, keep doing what you do, KCATA, you're doing fine. read more

Relied on the Metro for 2+ days to show my mom around KC. We hit up Brookside, SW Blvd, Downtown, Crown Center, W 39th, Art Museums all using the Metro and their $3 day passes. The only buses I am extremely familiar with are the 47,39 and MAX. We were out and about pretty late and the system worked like a charm. They could use some higher frequencies on most (if not all) of the buses besides MAX, but people need to stop sleeping on the Metro. It works...Mom liked it and I can't argue with that. Dump your car and take the bus. read more

The Metro - Public Transportation Near Me - Kansas City, Missouri

This review is strictly for the streetcars, which at this point seem to have no other Yelp account. The only reason I'm withholding a star is because it's Day One today, and it's hard to judge day-to-day service by a grand opening. But it was awesome! We parked at 3rd & Grand, walked to the station in the middle of 3rd Street, and were on a streetcar in 2 minutes, just like the screen said. Sure, it lurches forward a little bit when it takes off, so you wanna be hanging on, but the ride itself is creamy smooth and we were at 20th & Main in a matter of minutes. Getting on and off is a breeze because the platform and the car are level. There aren't many actual seats, but if you have to stand, there are lots of rails and handles to hold on to. If they keep the schedule they seemed to be running today, wait times shouldn't be long based on what we saw looking out Extra Virgin's window. All of the platforms have a screen that tells you when the next one arrives, and I'm happy to say that the free public wifi was working as promised. I know it's been controversial, but so far I'm a huge fan and I hope they expand it everywhere (especially Northtown!) Even with the limited route, it sure solves my downtown and City Market Saturday parking problems! read more

If I had another option to choose another bus company, I would. I only ride with kcata because I am forced to, and have no other choice. That being said, the way this company functions is absolutely horrendous. If you need info on a bus, and it's "after hours" you're just crap out of luck! In addition to that, the 35th street bus is CONSISTENTLY late by 5 minutes EVERY day of the week! I had an accident with the Metro where I had to call customer service, and the employee I spoke to was EXTREMELY rude, and RAISED HIS VOICE AT ME, when I requested to immediately be transferred to customer service. THEN, he hung up on me. Every time I called back it was the same guy too!! I FINALLY got transferred, but my transfer to customer service was a FIFTY MINUTE WAIT TIME. A FIFTY minute wait time to talk to a human being at 4 pm on a weekday. When I finally was in contact with a customer service representative, he said there were only TWO CUSTOMER SERVICE EMPLOYEES WORKING. Only two?? For the ENTIRE KCATA metro customer service line? What the hell?? This people need to get their crap together. Late buses, rude drivers, horrible customer service system, filthy buses (Roach infestation in the back of the troost max bus...), and overall terrible quality. Not a bus company you can depend on, and not a transportation service that gives a crap about the people! read more

Very helpful Mon thru Friday and very polite drivers. Very resourceful. Keeps every rider safe.