Wichita Transit

Have you been by Wichita's downtown riverfront lately? It doesn't look much different than it did a year ago — but change could be on the way, on both the west and east banks.

Wichita is in the process of replacing its vintage-looking trolleys with new electric vehicles. But with the free Q Line on hiatus because of the pandemic, it's anyone's guess when the public will be able to ride them. Today on The Range, we go en route the new Q.

Plus, we've heard it hundreds of times by now: Fill out the census. But what are we missing out on if we don't? (Turns out, a lot.)

In her job as an investigator for the federal public defenders office in Wichita, Cecilia Wood was given an assignment: explore how her clients' lives are affected by their dependence on the Wichita transit system.

Her approach? Give up her car for a year and learn to rely on the bus.

"To understand what [our clients] go through with the transportation system is huge," she says. "I've had a car my entire life."

Wichita Transit has made big changes to how its buses are run in order to keep riders and drivers safe during the pandemic: more frequent cleanings, more open seats. Those measures are even more important on the system's paratransit vans that take riders from their doors to medical and dental appointments, hospital visits, even dialysis.

This week, we meet a driver who, despite the added challenges that have come with COVID-19, says it's "the best job" she's ever had.

WICHITA, Kansas — This city’s buses all run on diesel.

They navigate Wichita streets with the distinctive rumble of their time-tested engines, belching the distinctive smell of diesel and a concoction of carbon monoxide, particulate matter and nitrogen oxides.

That exhaust clouds the air locally and adds to the greenhouse gases steadily transforming the climate globally.