Pilot Info

Pre-pilot survey

A survey before the summer pilot was conducted to better understand the youths experience and attitudes toward OST activities as well as their transportation-related habits. Most of the youth believe that, belonging to a team or club would make them feel good, but they also believe that not a lot of OST opportunities exist in their community. Most of them acknowledge that it is very difficult to find these opportunities in Kansas City. The surveyed youth suggested that the summertime is mostly challenging for finding things to do as they don’t feel they have many choices. 


In terms of transportation, most of them (especially females) depend on rides from someone but they don’t always have access to a car they can use. It was also found that they are mostly familiar with taking the school bus, walking, biking, or taking a car/riding with someone, but they are not familiar with transit or microtransit options (e.g., zTrip). In fact, public transit is rarely or never an option for these youths and they don’t seem to know enough about it to even consider it. Also, their top three factors for deciding on how they will get around are: safety, cost, and travel time. 

Use of the ConnectKC App during the summer 2023 pilot 

The participating youth used the ConnectKC app during the summer pilot to sign up to their events (e.g., workshops, internships, summer programs), see transportation options, and book a ride through zTrip, which were free during the pilot. Pop-up surveys would appear on the app to gather information on their selected mode of transportation for the event and a points system was created in the app to incentivize its use for completing the surveys.  

zTrip Rides

Given the partnership with zTrip and the availability of free transportation, many participants selected this option to attend their OST events. More than 2,200 zTrip bookings were completed (Figure 1). The average trip duration was 20 minutes and the average wait time before picked up for a ride was 15 minutes.  

Post Survey and semi-structured interviews

Another survey was administered with the end of the summer pilot to assess their experience from participating in their OST activity and obtain feedback on the ConnectKC app use as well as their transportation experience. Additional feedback was obtained through 13 semi-structured interviews with parent-child dyads. Overall, all participants had very positive experience during their pilot. This participation broadened their knowledge of employment opportunities in Kansas City and offered important connections for their future lives. Most of the participants would recommend the ConnectKC app and acknowledge the importance of free transportation for accessing their summer programs. 


Approximately 59% of the feedback related to the Connect KC app was positive. Within positive feedback, the top three themes were Convenience and Independence, Cost Savings, and Ease of Use. As one teen put it, 'I liked being able to get transportation when I needed to where I needed to go' and another wrote 'I liked that I had a ride to and from work and didn’t have to ask my parents or grandparents.' 


Overall, more than 70% of all users used the ConnectKC app at least 2-3 times per week and more than 75% of them used the ConnectKC app for booking rides with zTrip. About 91% of the participants said they felt moderately safe or safer during their zTrip rides. 


During the pilot, participants heavily relied on the Connect KC app to get to their summer internships. A substantial 67% of our ProX participants and 58% of our ThrYve participants made it clear that, without the Connect KC app's free transportation, reaching their ProX internships or summer programs would have been challenging. This underscores the importance of transportation in shaping the out-of-school experiences of teenagers. After the pilot, participants’ perceptions on how well they know how to use different transportation modes changed significantly. Many of them know well now how to use zTrip or other rideshare providers, such as Uber and Lyft. Their familiarity with transit (city bus or KC Streetcar) also improved a bit. 


When we bring all these data points together, they underscore a critical point: transportation subsidization plays a pivotal role in narrowing the opportunity gap. These findings tell a compelling story—that Connect KC doesn't just offer essential transportation services; it also serves as a gateway to career development and community engagement. Here's how these aspects intertwine: