Kansas City streetcars transport 32K riders in first weekend

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- More than 32,000 passengers have ridden Kansas City's new streetcars on the first weekend of operation, far exceeding ridership projections.

Kansas City Streetcar Authority officials told The Kansas City Star ridership peaked Saturday with nearly 15,000 people getting on along the 2.2-mile route through downtown.

More than 12,000 people rode the streetcar Friday. There were nearly 5,500 passengers Sunday, but that still was more than twice the prediction of 2,700 average daily riders once the novelty wears off.

Numbers for the first workday of streetcar operations Monday weren't available. However, Streetcar Authority spokeswoman Donna Mandelbaum said the streetcars were packed around lunchtime, and people were waiting at the platforms.

The sole glitch this weekend was an indicator light on a door that went out Saturday. The car was taken to a maintenance shop and was back in service in about a half-hour.

Parking along the route on Main Street wasn't permitted for the first two days of operation but was allowed again Sunday. Mandelbaum said she didn't have any reports of towed vehicles.

There also weren't reports of disturbances or other problems among riders.

The average wait time was a few minutes longer than the projected 10 minutes because the streetcars were stopping at each point with the high ridership numbers. Officials don't expect the streetcars to make every stop once usage settles into a routine.

The Streetcar Authority continued to have ambassadors on board Monday to assist riders, but no one was assisting at the boarding platforms anymore.

"It's very self-managed at this point," Mandelbaum said.

Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com