Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson released her latest effort to increase transit service for her city with a renewal of the Seattle Transit Measure.
If approved by Seattle’s City Council and voters, the measure would fund 280,000 King County Metro bus trips per year and 22,000 free ORCA transit passes for qualified low-income residents for the next 10 years. The new proposal will add 100,000 more trips a year to transit service and double the number of free ORCA passes, officials said.
“The Seattle Transit Measure is one of the reasons why the bus is an irresistibly good way to get around Seattle,” Wilson said. “Transportation is one of the biggest costs for most families, so these investments are essential to make our city more affordable so Seattleites can get to jobs, opportunities, and each other without a car.”
The proposal would renew and expand the Seattle Transit measure approved in 2020 by 80 percent of voters. Seattle uses the majority of sales tax revenue to pay for more transit service, especially at off-peak times. If passed by City Council and approved by voters, the proposal will take effect in 2027 and last for 10 years.
Wilson’s proposal calls for 0.3 percent sales tax increase, which will generate $138 million annually over the 10-year term. The increase is estimated to cost the media two-person Seattle household about $58 per year. The measure would replace the current 0.15 percent sales tax which expires in March 2027, and currently costs the median household $29 annually.
The majority of the transit measure would fund extra bus trips, and increase funding for bus service by about 50 percent.
A key priority of the bus service will be to create frequent transit service throughout the entire day including nights, weekends, and mid-days. Data shows that ridership during the off-peak times has grown compared to traditional peak commute times in recent years. Officials said frequent all-day transit service makes living without a car more realistic for Seattle residents.
The funding will also pay for targeted construction projects to reduce transit delays at pinch points and to build other improvements around bus stops.