Kansas City voters say yes to 3/8-cent sales tax

Kansas City Area Transportation Authority’s (KCATA) 3/8-cent sales tax received a “yes” from Kansas City, Mo. (KCMO), voters, keeping the sales tax for the next 10 years.  

“Thank you to the voters of Kansas City for once again renewing this critical transit tax to keep our buses rolling,” said Frank White III, KCATA president and CEO. “If there was ever any doubt about the broad-based community support for public transportation in Kansas City, it was eliminated by a margin of 73 percent [Nov. 7].” 

The 3/8-cent sales tax supports approximately 30 percent of the RideKC bus system in Kansas City, Mo. The authority says the 10-year renewed sales tax will generate approximately $400 million. The sales tax was originally passed by KCMO voters in 2004. It was renewed in 2008 for 15 years and was set to expire in March 2024. 

More than 1 million trips are taken on RideKC every month. 

“We would like to thank our many supporters who worked on behalf of this ballot initiative, beginning with our labor partners, ATU 1287,” White said. “Our union brothers and sisters, along with many other advocates, worked every day for the last few weeks ensuring people understood that failure was not an option.”