Lawrence Transit, the coordinated City of Lawrence and University of Kansas bus system, is preparing to implement new routes this August. City and University staff have worked closely with the public since late 2020 to explore new route ideas, discuss new on-demand service models for overnight and Sunday, and add value for existing and new passengers.

Why redesign routes?

Route Redesign better aligns routes with our new Central Station at Bob Billings and Crestline. Seven local routes and two regional routes will serve Central Station.  Five routes will continue to serve Downtown Lawrence.

New Route Features

• Interlining. Interlined routes reduce transfers and create more bi-directional service for a faster trip home. The same buses operate back and forth between two routes. Riders won’t need to get off the bus to transfer from one route to the other. To learn more, check out our explainer video.
• On-demand service. Sunday service will be introduced as an on-demand service that functions like Uber and Lyft, but will use transit vehicles and drivers. Anyone can request a trip to and from any location within Lawrence city limits between the hours of 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. on Sunday using a smartphone app or dialing a phone number. Night Line will also become an on-demand service, increasing same-day access to evening trips between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. Monday – Saturday.
• Peak and off-peak frequencies. Based on community interest, Lawrence Transit is piloting Sunday service. To afford this change, transit trips in the middle of the day on fixed-route will be less frequent, and trips during the morning and afternoon commute times will be every half hour or better across all routes.
• Fare Free. Federal stimulus funds provide the opportunity to afford a 1-year pilot of fare free in 2023. One of many reasons to pilot fare free service is to make it even easier to explore new route changes.

Transit staff will begin outreach about upcoming changes to routes and schedules the first week of May.

Check out our Route Redesign project page for dates and times you can find Transit staff in person.

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