KC Streetcar Service Announcement

KC Streetcar is Expanding Seasonal Enhanced Saturday Service to Year-Round

The KC Streetcar is excited to extend its higher capacity, more frequent enhanced Saturday mid-day service to the year-round schedule beginning Saturday, November 2.

Four streetcar Saturday service was initially tested this summer to increase capacity and frequency during peak ridership on the system’s highest ridership day of the week. Average Saturday service carries over 10,000 riders.

During the peak Saturday ridership hours of 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., there will be four streetcars operating on the route. This allows more people to travel throughout downtown and increase service frequency to every seven to ten minutes.

“The streetcar plays a major role in getting people to and from the City Market. We appreciate the KC Streetcar Authority adjusting Saturday service to better serve the downtown community,” said Sue Patterson, director of marketing and events for the City Market.

To accommodate this service adjustment, Friday and Saturday late night service will end at 1:00 a.m instead of the current 2:00 a.m. closing time. While demand on weekend evenings is strong, data collected since streetcar service began in 2016 shows that ridership drops off significantly between 1:00 to 2:00am, no matter the season. Adjusting the late-night weekend service hours allows the KC Streetcar to reallocate resources to serve people more effectively during high traffic days.

“Our expanded fleet, along with a reallocation of operating hours to the times of greatest need, is giving us the ability to schedule permanent four car service for the first time in our history. These adjustments allow us to improve the rider experience and make the most of the system and resources we have to deploy,” said Tom Gerend, executive director of the KC Streetcar Authority.