Streetcar opens up new opportunities to travel downtown

Boarding the Kansas City streetcar, junior Rachel Holzer looks around to find an array of unfamiliar faces. The doors close as the conductor announces the next stop on the route toward the River Market and the car begins to move along its tracks. She looks out the window as the city flies by. Finally reaching her stop, she exits the car to the final destination along the streetcar tracks, and begins to explore.

With summer opening up more free time for students, some have journeyed downtown to discover a new addition to the city streets: the Kansas City streetcar. The streetcar began operating May 6, in time to work out a few bugs before the summer season. At no cost, the streetcar offers opportunities for anyone to ride. Covering a two mile route, the streetcar provides 16 different drop off locations and free wifi provided by Sprint.

Due to its popularity, the streetcar has found itself ingrained into city life.

“The downtown community, events, VisitKC, etc, have all embraced the streetcar as well and are using it as a marketing tool for their individual needs,” communications manager for the Kansas City streetcar Donna Mandelbaum said.

Embracing the streetcar, passengers have begun using it not only for their personal agenda, but for exploring the area as well. On average, 6,365 passengers ride the streetcar each day, but on Saturdays, the busiest day of the week, anywhere from 9,000 to 11,000 people use this new transportation resource, according to RideKC.

“We knew visitors to the KC region and those that live downtown would use it, but the number of users we’ve seen from way out of town, as well as our closest suburbs, has been extraordinary,” Mandelbaum said.

The streetcar was originally introduced as an alternative to driving and allowed for lower-income people to access transportation. Mandelbaum said offering a free public transit service was “a part of the ballot measure that approved this project in the first place.”

With the opportunity to drive less, the streetcar has opened up possibilities for students or tourists who are unwilling or unable to travel through the downtown area. While on board, passengers have the opportunity to interact with other riders, creating a social aspect for the streetcar.

“The streetcar has impacted the way people travel and explore downtown Kansas City,” Mandelbaum said. “They drive less, no longer looking for parking spots, walk more, visit more venues and restaurants, explore new parts of downtown, etc. The streetcar is also a social scene in which passengers engage with one another, speaking together and swapping streetcar stories.”

For Holzer, the streetcar has enabled her to travel downtown with friends, something she was not previously able to do without the convenience of free transportation. Holzer suggests that more students use the streetcar to their benefit to adventure through the Kansas City area.

“I am most excited for being able to go downtown with my friends and being able to see new parts of the city for free,” Holzer said. “People from Southwest will have greater access to events that happen in downtown Kansas City. I don’t think people at our school take advantage of downtown Kansas City as much as they should.”

Like Holzer has suggested, freshman Jessa Boutte plans to begin to use the streetcar in the near future. Boutte has not yet traveled on the streetcar, but considers it a valuable part of the city that has helped create a new atmosphere.

“The streetcar is different from other transportation because it’s relatively unique,” Boutte said.  “Streetcars aren’t uncommon, but there’s not an excessive amount of cities that have them. It makes Kansas City even more unique.”

Along with the uniqueness of Kansas City’s new addition, Boutte anticipates easier travel for people who don’t necessarily have the means to own a car. The practicality of the streetcar has exceeded its expectations, reaching beyond the city limits to tourists while also benefiting many locals, including Boutte.

“Personally, the streetcar sounds like a lot of fun, and I’m excited to go try it eventually,” Boutte said. “I think it’s great Kansas City is doing something this big and I hope more fun things keep being added.”