Updated May 22, 2026 at 1:58 PM EDT
KANSAS CITY - When the World Cup comes to Kansas City, Missouri, this summer for six matches, the metro-area could welcome some 650,000 visitors — more than the city's estimated population of 520,000.
FIFA requires, but doesn't help pay for, host cities to provide public transportation to visitors.
In a place like sprawling Kansas City, that's an even bigger challenge because the area transportation system already struggles to provide frequent and reliable service to its residents. The existing bus shuttles to get to and from Kansas City International Airport, or to the stadium complex outside the city, is time-consuming and the schedule is limited.
Solving for visitors; value for residents?
So in advance of this huge wave of visitors, the smallest host city built a new transit system, specifically for the World Cup.
KC2026 would not disclose the cost of the transit system costs, but a representative for the planning committee said "costs will be in the millions."
Spokespeople for Kansas City confirmed that the city pledged to provide KC2026 with $15 million to meet World Cup obligations, but it does not know exactly how that money will be allocated.
Pam Kramer, CEO of KC2026, the city's World Cup planning committee, said she wants the service to be available for both residents and tourists.
"We're thinking about it beyond the tournament and the requirements (from FIFA)," Kramer said. "To deliver value to the region, spread out the economic impact, make sure people from across the region participate and make sure visitors see all we have to offer is something I'm really proud of."
The improved bus service, however, won't last. Once the tournament ends, so will the new transit system, leaving residents back where they were before.
Related: Kansas City will lose a fourth of its daily bus routes after the World Cup
Sunrise Movement Kansas City and its sister organization, the Kansas City Bus Riders Union, have been speaking out against the disparity. In a zine published in March, the groups said the city is leaving residents behind as it prepares better services for tourists.
"For 33 days this summer, KC's public transit will bloom; granting more routes and greater frequency to tourists and visitors, all things that Kansas Citians deserve everyday," the group wrote in its "Not a Game to Us" zine. "Long-term investments in our city's transit should not be sacrificed to accommodate any single event — no matter how 'monumental.'"
The extra buses, around 225 of them, are called "Connect KC26" and will carry the hundreds of thousands of estimated visitors to 15 different locations where no direct bus service currently exists. The buses will also take people between the airport, the FIFA Fan Festival and the stadium. Kansas City's regular buses already go to those areas, but it takes riders much longer than KC2026 plans to run its system.
It takes about 15 minutes by car to get from where the FIFA Fan Festival will take place to the stadium.
To do so with the current public transportation it would take riders over an hour. That journey entails about 15 minutes on the city's streetcar line, then about 25 minutes on a bus that comes once every 45 minutes. Once the bus drops off riders outside the stadium, it takes another 15 minutes to walk from the stop through the stadium's massive parking lots to its entrance.
Related: Amtrak expects so many World Cup visitors to Kansas City that it's adding more train cars
On a Connect KC26 Stadium Direct bus, that ride will only take about 20 minutes without traffic.
"The stadium is like 7 miles from downtown, and that's 7 Kansas City miles, not 7 New York miles, so it still lacks a lot of the density between here and there, and so transit options are pretty limited," said Eric Bunch, a Kansas City councilmember who also sits on the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority's board of commissioners. "It's not that bad, but that's not typically what you want to hear when we're talking about something as vital as public transit."
The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority has been battling budget shortfalls and transportation cuts for years. The area currently has the fewest number of bus routes it's ever had, and many of the suburbs have stopped their transit service altogether. That means the KCATA doesn't have fast, direct public transit between many of the World Cup locations. The agency serves Kansas City, Missouri, which is 319 square miles itself, and most of the metro, which includes two states, seven counties, and many municipalities.
Kramer said the city wants to show the world it is ready for the games. The city and area transit authority have been working with the committee to establish the new system. While it will still take people around the metro, with an emphasis on tourist hot spots, Bunch said the transportation authority will be mainly focused on providing service to residents during the tournament.
For more World Cup coverage from Kansas City head to KCUR.org
The cost to ride for visitors, and locals
After six years of free rides, the KCATA will begin charging fares again, beginning June 1. During the tournament, a ride to and from the stadium on city buses will cost $4. ConnectKC26's direct charter buses, it will cost $15 round trip.
That price puts Kansas City in the middle of the pack among World Cup host cities for public transportation.
It's far cheaper than the $80 to more than $100 that fans will have to pay in places like Boston or New York, but more expensive than fares in Dallas and Philadelphia.
But the additional bus service will only last during the tournament from June 11 to July 13. Providing seamless transit for visitors while preparing for bus cuts after the tournament leaves town angers some residents.
"Prioritizing World Cup transportation over funding frequent, reliable everyday transit, it signals to me that they don't care about everyday working Kansas Citians who rely on bus service," Kansas City resident Dayne Moth wrote in the "Not a Game to Us" zine. "They aren't treating transit as a necessity. It's a disgrace."
Bunch hopes the World Cup transit will encourage people to take the bus more or maybe try it for the first time.
For non-stadium trips, a monthly pass, which will take people all across the metro, will cost $50. He hopes the effort will foster more regional collaboration and funding for expanded regular public transit.
"Optimistically, I think it provides a glimpse into what a truly regional transit system could look like," Bunch said. "That looks different for a regular, everyday person versus a visitor coming for the World Cup. But I think that it's going to be a system that's usable for the everyday person. I think that there's an opportunity, but we have to be mindful and really thoughtful about how we leverage that for future planning."
Savannah Hawley-Bates is Missouri Government and Politics Reporter for KCUR Kansas City.
For more World Cup coverage from Kansas City head to KCUR.org
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