Johnson County Transit and Transpro Consulting presented the Metcalf Fast & Frequent corridor study to the Overland Park Community Development committee, outlining route changes, stop consolidations and service goals intended to make the 401 Metcalf-to-Plaza route faster and more reliable.

Josh Powers of Johnson County Transit opened the presentation and introduced David Johnson of Transpro Consulting. "These are recommendations. They're not mandates," Powers said, emphasizing the county role in scheduling and the city's role in corridor priorities. The study team said Route 401 currently runs weekdays about every hour, takes roughly 75 minutes one-way and operates from about 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.

The consultants recommended shortening certain loops and re-routing segments to save travel time — including a shorter plaza loop, routing along Shawnee Mission Parkway in parts of the alignment, and using College Boulevard at the southern end. They noted the route includes 37 stops in the proposed alignment, and that several existing stops show very low ridership ("1 or less" boardings per day) and are candidates for consolidation.

David Johnson said the project set measurable success outcomes for the first full year of operation, notably improved on-time performance and a targeted 5% increase in ridership. The team cited public engagement with over 300 respondents; pandemic-era changes and differing travel patterns mean weekend and evening service are now priorities for workers and retailers served by the corridor.

Committee members asked about data and operational details. Powers said the county has begun installing automatic passenger counters (APCs) that record boarding and alighting with GPS pings and that stop-level boarding breakdowns will be available as the dataset grows. On signal priority, Powers said transit signal prioritization had been used in the past but is not active now because it requires long-term operational management typically handled by city traffic operations; he said the county would like Metcalf to be a candidate if the city supports signal changes.

Funding and operations were recurring concerns: short-term frequency increases for 2026 are already in the county's transit budget, the presenters said, but expanded off-peak and weekend service depends on additional operating dollars. Powers provided an operating-cost benchmark for scaling service for short-term events (for example, the World Cup) of about $190 per bus per hour for labor and fuel and said the county currently funds transit at under 1% of its budget.

The presenters also discussed microtransit and paratransit. They cautioned that earlier microtransit deployment had "cannibalized" fixed-route service when it was priced too cheaply; they warned that increased fixed-route frequency can trigger federally required ADA paratransit obligations (a three-quarter mile ADA buffer) that would change service expectations and fiscal responsibilities.

Short-term amenity recommendations included upgraded shelters, real-time arrival information and bike parking; mid-term work (3–5 years) could include reconstructed stops and level boarding; long-term ideas included dedicated bus lanes on Metcalf and placemaking around stops. The team said they would present final recommendations to the Johnson County Commission and then develop an operating schedule for public comment, with implementation work hoped for in 2026 if the commission approves the strategic plan.

The committee thanked the presenters and asked that the county supply the presentation slides to the council. Staff and county representatives said they would continue conversations about funding, signal priority, and potential city–county partnerships to carry forward corridor improvements.