Johnson County Manager Penny Postoak Ferguson, far right, rides in a shuttle Wednesday with other parade attendees. Photo via Johnson County.
Winning the Super Bowl apparently isn’t old hat yet for Johnson Countians, judging by the turnout for the special free shuttle buses that shuttled Chiefs fans from Overland Park to downtown Kansas City, Missouri, for the victory parade on Wednesday.
Passenger numbers are up about 10 percent this year from the last time the Chiefs won three years ago, said Josh Powers, transit director for the county public works department.
There were 85 buses carrying 21,635 passengers this year, up from 19,600 passengers in 2020, Powers said in an email Friday.
The service from Oak Park Mall to 25th Street and Southwest Boulevard in downtown Kansas City was part of RideKC’s free city shuttle program to the parade and celebration at Union Station.
RideKC also had shuttles to four other spots in Kansas City and Kansas City, Kan.
Oak Park Mall was Johnson County’s only shuttle park.
The shuttle was available to fans from 7:30 to 4:45 on Wednesday and Powers said things generally went well.
“Overall it went very well without any major disruptions,” he said, with the only hitch being an increase of about 1,000 riders wanting to board the buses around 3 p.m. once the rally at Union Station was over.
“It’s gotten a little hectic,” she said.
Although television coverage indicated it was a beer celebration, Powers said he was unaware of excessively inebriated fans at the Johnson County seat. She also said she heard of an apparently minor altercation.
None of Johnson County’s fixed routes were active on parade day, but paratransit and microtransit were available.
Transit officials have tried to inform people in advance, and Powers said he was unaware of any reported issues about the daily suspension of regular routes.
Roxie Hammill is a freelance journalist who writes frequently for the Post and other Kansas City-area publications. You can contact her at [email protected].
