Seattle voters Renew transit measure to expand bus service

Seattle Voters Renew Transit Measure With More Than 72% Support, Unlocking $138 Million a Year for Buses

With more than 72% of votes counted, Seattle voters have renewed the Seattle Transit Measure, GovDelivery reported, approving a 0.3% sales tax that will raise about $138 million annually over 10 years — money earmarked for the largest expansion of transit service in the city’s history.

Early returns from King County Elections show the measure passing at roughly 72%, a margin that city leaders say reflects a durable public commitment to buses as the backbone of how Seattle moves. The renewal replaces the current Seattle Transit Measure, which voters approved in 2020, and it does so without a gap in service when the existing funding expires.

275,000 Bus Trips a Year — 95,000 More Than Today

The headline number is service. The majority of the funding will pay for extra bus trips: about 275,000 a year, which is 95,000 more trips than the 2020 measure currently funds. That expansion is not spread evenly across the day. City officials say the money will create frequent service through middays, nights, and weekends, because ridership during those off-peak hours has grown faster in recent years than during traditional 9-to-5 commute times.

Election-night returns in Seattle show 70% backing for Proposition 1 transit tax

Acting SDOT Director Angela Brady put it plainly:

“Seattle voters said yes to better transit, and we’re grateful to everyone who made it happen. Thanks to the Seattle Transit Measure, our buses will run more often, from early morning to late at night and on the weekends. Not everyone works 9 to 5, and our transit system shouldn’t either.”

Investments will concentrate on east-west routes, connections to light rail stations, and neighborhoods slated for housing and employment growth — the places where people depend on transit most. It will also pay for construction at pinch points where buses get delayed and for upgrades around bus stops, plus city staff positions dedicated to speeding up future Sound Transit light rail projects.

Seattle transit measure (Proposition 1) sees heavy lead on “yes” vote.

Double the Free ORCA Cards, and a Sales Tax Trade-off

The measure will double the number of free ORCA cards given to qualifying riders — 22,000 cards for low-income people, students, older adults, and families with young children, up from 12,000 today. Seattle Housing Authority Executive Director Rod Brandon noted the weight of that program for the residents his agency serves: through a partnership with SDOT, more than 6,600 residents took more than 1.3 million rides last year alone.

The 0.3% sales tax applies to purchases across Seattle, so the roughly $138 million a year is drawn from the same sales-tax base that funds other city priorities. That is the trade-off voters weighed: a modest, broad-based tax increase in exchange for roughly 95,000 additional bus trips a year, thousands more free transit passes, and dedicated staff to keep light rail expansion moving.

King County Executive Girmay Zahilay said the renewal “reflects voters’ commitment to stronger, more connected communities by adding thousands of hours of Metro service, expanding early morning and late-night service, and providing free transit passes to more students, working families, and low-income residents.”

Mayor Katie Wilson called the result a mandate for a system that is “convenient to use, affordable to access, and that easily connects them to opportunity and prosperity,” adding that the measure will “double the low-income transit passes available to Seattleites, and provide resources for faster and more reliable service.”

What Happens Next

The Seattle Transportation Advisory Board described this as the third iteration of the Seattle Transit Measure, and said the expansion will grow bus service by 47% and add approximately 100,000 additional trips annually beginning next year. Councilmember Dionne Foster emphasized the long horizon: the 10-year renewal, backed by roughly $138 million a year, gives riders and transit workers “the long-term certainty they deserve” as the city moves from the 2020 measure into this larger one.

With more than 72% of the vote, Seattle voters renewed the Seattle Transit Measure to fund the largest expansion of transit service in the city’s history.