Mayor and advocates say 2026 Seattle Transit Measure ‘will help residents afford their lives in our expensive city’

Wilson at the June unveiling of her Seattle Transit Measure proposal (Image: City of Seattle)

The Seattle City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the 2026 Seattle Transit Measure for the November ballot, proposing a 10-year renewal funded by a 0.3% sales tax.

Generating an estimated $138 million annually, the package aims to significantly expand bus service in the city, strengthen system safety, and address regional affordability for residents across Seattle.

Mayor Katie Wilson and transit advocates are applauding the vote.

“Getting around is the second biggest expense after housing,” said Kirk Hovenkotter, Executive Director of Transportation Choices Coalition. “The Seattle Transit Measure will help residents afford their lives in our expensive city.”

“It’s a package that respects people’s hard-earned dollars and brings 100,000 more bus trips to Seattle every year and funds 22,000 free transit passes for low-income households,” Wilson said in a statement. “Next week, we will gather in City Hall so I can sign the bill and send it to voters for their consideration this November. To everyone who showed up and helped shape the Seattle Transit Measure – I also say thank you, and congratulations.”

CHS reported here on unsuccessful attempts to shrink the mayor’s proposal for a major expansion of the Seattle Transportation Benefit District. Wilson’s 2026 Seattle Transit Measure renewal would doubles the existing sales tax.

If approved by voters, officials say the proposal will expand Seattle’s capacity from 180,000 to 280,000 annual bus trips — a 47% increase in total service. The plan boosts frequencies on 10 to 15 key routes, expands late-night and weekend service, and prioritizes electric buses in South Seattle and the Duwamish Valley. Crucially, the measure will “double the number of free ORCA cards provided to low-income households” by expanding subsidized passes to 12,000 additional residents, while allocating funds to “support the recommendations of the King County Regional Transit Safety Task Force.”

Community members and labor leaders have aligned behind the proposal, with the Transportation Choices Coalition emphasizing that the bill “will finally allow transit to be a seamless part of people’s lives, rather than a burden to plan around.” Meanwhile, Greg Woodfill, president of ATU 587, said that the measure “will increase transit worker living wage jobs, address transit safety, and meet Seattle residents’ demand for more safe, reliable public transportation.”

Select Committee chair Rob Saka highlighted the collaborative effort behind the legislation, saying, “Together, we’ve put forward a balanced measure that invests in the people who rely on transit every day, and prepares Seattle for a cleaner, more accessible future.”

According to the Seattle Department of Transportation $96.1 million of the measure’s annual funding under Wilson’s plan would go to increased transit service, while $23.4 million would be earmarked for the city’s struggling streetcar lines, $9 million for transit access programs including free ORCA passes, and $3.5 million for capital projects.

The sales tax bump arrives amid grumbles of tax fatigue in the region. For a median two-person Seattle household, approval would mean a bump from about $29 to around $58 a year at the register.

(Image: CHS)

If approved, Seattle’s total combined sales tax rate would reach 10.70% — 6.5% to the general state fund, 3.9% to city public safety, housing, and cultural services, and 0.3% to the renewed levy.

Meanwhile, the preservation and growth of other vital city services are also attached to tax decisions on the ballot. CHS reported here on the August primary ballot’s inclusion of the proposed renewal of the city’s library levy that would would nearly double the city’s library tax rate to $0.23 per $1,000 of assessed property value. Over the course of the proposal’s seven-year run, the median Seattle homeowner would pay about $163 a year, according to the city’s analysis. Officials say the bump would raise around $480 million over the seven-year span.

Seattle voters have strongly supported the sales tax-supported transit program. 80% of Seattle voters approved the increase to $0.15 and the six-year package in 2020, despite the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis.

Today, the Seattle Transportation Benefit District generates roughly $70 million in total annual revenue but just over 70% of that comes from sales tax. Another $18 million or so is generated annually from a $50 vehicle license fee when residents register a car or renew tabs.

Seattle has structured its district with restrictions that direct the car tab money to Seattle Department of Transportation spending and projects. Only the sales tax can be used for funding the purchase of bus service hours from the county. The council would need to amend the city’s spending ordinances to direct a portion of car tab revenue toward transit service. Meanwhile, only the sales tax component requires voter approval.

The new proposal now heads to Mayor Wilson for her signature before being sent to voters this fall.

$5 A MONTH TO HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE

Subscribe to CHS to help hire writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. To stay that way, we need you. Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for $5 a month — or choose your level of support