KCATA offers free bus rides to paratransit users

KANSAS CITY — Kansas City Area Transportation Authority is launching a pilot program that will allow people with disabilities and seniors who qualify for paratransit services to ride the agency's fixed-route bus service for free in the Kansas City area, The Kansas City Star reported.

Customers must be qualified to ride IndeAccess, Dial-A-Ride or Share-A-Fare. Paratransit users not familiar with riding a bus will be provided training, the report said.

“It’s going to give folks with disabilities, like myself, more options. It’s going to allow them not to worry about coming up with fares,” said KCATA President/CEO Robbie Makinen, who lost his vision a few years ago. One the biggest missions for Makinen was to break down barriers for people with disabilities who use Americans with Disabilities Act-complementary paratransit services, according to The Kansas City Star.

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