Starting January 1: Independence switching from public buses to on-demand IRIS program

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (KCTV) - As of Wednesday, Independence public transportation users are now required to use IRIS, an on-demand service.

On Jan. 1, 2025, the City of Independence switched its public transportation offerings from public buses to private rides using the IRIS rideshare program.

Instead of catching scheduled routes, residents can schedule an IRIS rideshare vehicle to pick them up and drop them off at their requested location.

According to the city, budget restraints forced the change. Independence’s annual budget for public transportation is $1.3M, but the estimated cost to continue servicing full bus routes for 2025 was reportedly $4.2M, with $3.3M coming from general funds.

All but one route, Route 24, and the RideKC Freedom paratransit service will be eliminated, including:

• Route 301 runs east and south from the intersection of Truman and Noland to roughly Centerpointe Medical Center along 23rd, Lee’s Summit Road, and 39th Street.
• Route 302 runs west and south from the Independence Transit Center at the intersection of Truman and Noland Road to Blue Ridge Crossing and onto Hy-Vee at 40 Highway and Noland Road via Crysler, then Sterling, then 40 Highway.
• Route 303 runs south from the Independence Transit Center at the intersection of Truman and Noland Road to Hy-Vee at 40 Highway and Noland Road.
• Route 304 runs north from the Independence Transit Center at the intersection of Truman and Noland Road to Spring and 24 Highway, then east to Osage along 24 Highway.
• Route 305 runs north and east from the Independence Transit Center at the intersection of Truman and Noland Road along 24 Highway and includes to the Fairmount Community Center and Winner Road and Brookside.
• Route 306 runs east and south from the Independence Transit Center at the intersection of Truman and Noland Road to Centerpointe Medical Center, via Truman Road, Lee’s Summit Road, Mo-78 to MCC- Blue River, and then down to Centerpointe Medical via Jackson Road.

To use IRIS, users can download the free IRIS app from the Google Play or App store, call or book online.

You can learn more about the change here.

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