New Johnson County bus route forms east-west connector between 75th and 95th streets
Johnson County Transit's new, zero-fare Route 487 connects Lenexa City City Center with Mission Transit Center along the 87th Street corridor.
Beginning today, Johnson County has a new bus route that connects city centers, farmers’ market locations, the Central Resource Library and other popular destinations.
Johnson County Transit developed Route 487 as a zero-fare bus route along the 87th Street corridor. The route links the Lenexa City Center at its western terminal point to the Mission Transit Center as its eastern terminal point. In between, the buses travel through downtown Overland Park and Prairie Village as the first east-west connecting route between 75th and 95th streets.
The route will run from around 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, with buses scheduled an hour apart. Riders bound for other areas of the metro may consider Route 487 as one leg of their trips, since the new route connects to the existing Route 495 at the Lenexa City Center and to several RideKC routes at the Mission Transit Center. All along the new route are shopping centers, restaurants, trails and attractions.
Officials from Lenexa, Overland Park, Prairie Village and Mission celebrated the new bus route, which runs through the four cities, during the Aug. 4 "rolling" ribbon cutting.
Route 487 is part of a $15.3 million allocation by the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners for several pilot programs aimed at improving public transportation service in Johnson County. Those programs include fixed routes, such as Route 487, as well as commuter express, micro transit and paratransit services in the county.
At a special “rolling” ribbon cutting on Aug. 4, participating city officials and chamber of commerce members celebrated the new bus route. The ribbon cutting began outside the Johnson County Administration Building in Olathe in front of a parked bus. That bus then transported the celebrants through the west-to-east route of 487. Review a video of the “rolling” ribbon cutting online, and recap the ribbon cutting in this Twitter thread.
The Olathe point of origin for the ceremony is not part of Route 487, but the ribbon-cutting began there to recognize where the BOCC allocated the funds to make the route possible. And while the bus followed the 487 route, it spent more time at each stop so officials representing each city could cut their own celebratory ribbon outside the bus and share in the celebration.
Route 487 Map
Rolling Ribbon Cutting Tweet-Along
Follow our tweet-along of the "rolling" ribbon cutting for Johnson County Transit's new, zero-fare Route 487.