The Kansas City Streetcar Authority (KCSA) recently entered into a cooperative partnership with the KC Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) and the City of Kansas City, Mo. (KCMO) for streetcar related support and services.

At the August meeting of the KC Streetcar Authority Board of Directors, Tom Gerend, executive director of the authority, and Joe Reardon, CEO/president of the KCATA, briefed the KCSA on the plan for shared services.

“Today’s announcement for shared services reinforces our strong partnership with the KCATA and our desire to maximize the efficiency of streetcar operations while helping to support the advancement of a seamless, world-class regional transit system,” said Tom Gerend, executive director of the KC Streetcar Authority.

As part of this partnership, the KCATA will provide important services to KC Streetcar operations, including:

• Inclusion of KC Streetcar into KCATA regional radio operations.

• Inclusion of KC Streetcar in KCATA’s Regional Call Center Passenger Information Hotline.

• Federally-required ADA complementary paratransit service.

• On-request safety oversight assistance.

• On-request bus bridge services.

• On-request technical and operations support services.

Once the streetcars are operational, the KCATA will provide streetcar schedule and arrival information to callers through their Regional Call Center. This information will also be displayed on the real-time arrival signs and digital kiosks located at a majority of the downtown streetcar stops.

The KCATA will also provide paratransit service, otherwise known as “Share-A-Fare” service, for eligible riders in the streetcar service area that can’t independently use the streetcar system because of a disability. In the event that streetcar service is interrupted for an extended period of time, the KCATA, in coordination with the KCSA, will employ bus bridge services in order to transport riders to their destinations.

“The streetcar is a significant addition to the transit landscape in the Kansas City region,” said KCATA President/CEO Joe Reardon "This cooperative agreement furthers our efforts to enter into strong partnerships to provide a more seamless, enhanced and multimodal transit system for residents throughout Kansas City. We are excited to work with KC Streetcar and share our expertise and skills to the support the streetcar operation."

This cooperative agreement is the next step in an already established partnership for a cohesive and efficient regional transit system. In November 2014, RideKC was born, the new Greater Kansas City Transit brand, which includes both the KCATA and the KC Streetcar. It’s under this partnership with other transit-related agencies that a regional brand was created to unify our transit system and serve as an umbrella for all modes of transportation operating in the greater Kansas City area.