KC Streetcar’s Main Street Extension sees overall ridership go up

  UMKC students and Kansas City residents are frequently riding on KC Streetcar’s Main Street Extension, saying it has made their everyday commutes and lives easier.

  Following the opening of the extension in October 2025, streetcar ridership reached a record number of rides in a month, with 355,373 rides reported in December.

  Some students believe the number of people using the streetcar will continue to increase, following recent news that RideKC will be reinstating a bus fare this summer.

  “A lot of people are maybe on it now because it seems pretty new, but once the buses start costing money again, I’m sure a lot of people are gonna use the streetcar then,” said Adrianne Turner, who rides the streetcar almost daily. 

  Roo News reached out to the Kansas City Streetcar Authority for a statement regarding whether they believe that ridership trends will continue, but they declined to comment.

  Meg Ellison, a junior film student, rides the streetcar only a few times a month, however still has strong opinions on the form of transportation.

  “I heard that buses are going to charge riders $2 to take the bus. I haven’t heard much about it, but I don’t think it’s fair to go from free transportation to then charge riders,” Ellison said.

  Turner, a freshman English major, works on the Plaza and uses the streetcar for transportation.

  “The streetcar is a lot more consistent than the bus I used to take before, and it comes a lot more often. So I appreciate the fact that if I miss it, it doesn’t ruin my whole day,” said Turner.

  Marlee Wolfe, a Kansas City resident, uses the streetcar at least once a week.

  “Public transportation is an incredible resource that I don’t think we have enough of in the U.S., so it’s great to see Kansas City making a change,” said Wolfe. 

  Aditya Naredla, a master’s student in computer science, started using the streetcar to get to school and work after a stop opened next to where he lives on Main Street.

  Naredla used to rely on rideshare services to get around, but he said many international students like him have saved money due to the extension. 

  “It usually costs me like 20 bucks just to get here without the streetcar. I think it’s really helpful,” said Naredla.

  Wolfe made an observation about KC residents and how the streetcar has helped with safety surrounding the bar scene along the streetcar route.

  “I think the biggest impact I’ve personally seen is the amount of people taking the streetcar to the bars, both downtown and in Westport – people taking a free streetcar home over an expensive Uber has decreased the amount of drunk drivers in the area,” said Wolfe.

  When it comes to upcoming events where Kansas City will be seeing an influx of visitors, like the World Cup, everyday streetcar users are anticipating rides to become even more crowded. 

  “I’ve been dreading that because it’s probably going to be really busy all the time, and it’s always uncomfortable when you’re in the streetcar, and it’s totally packed, so you don’t really know where to stand,” said Turner.

  Similarly, Wolfe believes Kansas City may not be prepared for the crowds coming from the World Cup.

  “Having the World Cup in KC is going to flood the public transportation. There will be overcrowding everywhere, not just the public transportation,” said Wolfe.

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