The City of Independence will suspend bus services in 2025

KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne covers issues surrounding government responsibility and solutions. Share your story with Isabella.

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The city of Independence has six main bus routes and for the past four years people have been taking the routes around the city for free. But that will end on December 31, 2024.

Daily bus drivers like Glenda Diane Williams are concerned about being able to get around the area without public transportation.

“It will be impossible,” Williams said.

Williams relies on Indy Bus routes to get her medications and groceries and go to doctor appointments.

On a fixed income, Williams explains that she cannot afford other forms of public transportation.

“Some of these people on council, and I don’t say this in a mean or cruel way, are not concerned about having to buy toilet paper,” Williams said.

The City of Independence received approximately $5.2 million from federal COVID-19 relief funding in 2020 to keep the buses running and free.

That money is now all gone, and Independence’s community development director explained that recharging the buses will not offset the nearly $3.5 million in operating costs.

“Operating and labor costs have increased significantly since 2019, and if we were to charge $3 rates again, it would only cover a portion of what the city spends,” Tom Scannell said.

As a solutionthe city plans to maintain bus route 24, which runs from Independence to Kansas City, charge a $3 fare for para-transit trips and implement IRIS microtransit within the city limits.

“How are you going to drive around the city like a taxi?” one citizen asked during a town hall meeting Wednesday.

IRIS works similarly to a ride-sharing program such as Uber or Lyft, where the passenger requests a ride via an app or phone call and is then picked up/dropped off within 1/4 mile of their location. The IRIS services cost people a flat rate of $5 per ride.

“Introducing these rates will help keep our transit costs within budgeted amounts,” Scannell said.

However, daily riders like Anthony Cunningham aren’t optimistic that the proposed five IRIS-equipped cars will make up the nearly 300,000 bus trips Independence Transit provides per year.

“I don’t understand at all how this is going to absorb the demand of all these people who have to get a spot day in and day out,” Cunningham said.

Cunningham relies on public transportation in the KC area and also advocates for Sunrise Movement KC.

The environmental sustainability group has been outspoken about the reduction of public transport in the Kansas City area.

“Sunrise Movement KC… denounces bus cuts in the City of Independence and demands that Jackson County leaders step in and fund transit,” said a statement to KSHB 41 News. “Young people from Sunrise Movement KC… demand that Jackson County lawmakers take urgent action to fund the region’s system.”

The president of KC Operations for WHC Worldwide, the company that owns IRIS, told the dozens of concerned residents at Wednesday night’s meeting that the dynamic structure could be changed based on transit needs.

“We have the ability to scale up if the city of Independence suddenly decides they’re underserved by five cars; we can add four, five, 10 more cars the next day,” said Terry O’Toole.

The six-month pilot program will cost approximately $480,000. Independence will pay $420,000 and the riders will contribute the remaining $60,000 through the $5 rate.

IRIS rides will begin on January 1, 2025 and run until June 30, 2025. At that time, Independence City leaders have said they will evaluate the program’s efficiency.

“Having the data of all our riders to see where they are going and coming from allows us to make adjustments along the way,” said Scannell.

IRIS is available in Kansas City, Missouri, but there have been some complications with the drivers.

Employees held a meeting in October to unitecalling for better working conditions, such as paid leave and lower allowances on their paychecks.

KSHB 41 News reporter Isabella Ledonne brought the issue to Independence city staff to see if they had any concerns.

“The area’s independence is significantly less than Kansas City, so they’re confident they can attract drivers to the service here,” Scannell said.

Kansas City contracts Z-Trip for the IRIS service, which is separate from the Independence service.

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