Seattle Voters Back Transit Measure Renewal With Over 72%: About $138 Million a Year and 275,000 Annual Bus Trips
The Seattle Mayor's Office announced on November 3 that voters in Seattle, in King County, Washington, delivered overwhelming support for renewing the Seattle Transit Measure. According to King County Elections, the measure was passing with more than 72% of votes counted.
Mayor Katie Wilson and City of Seattle leadership thanked Seattle voters for once again showing their strong support for transit, saying the city is poised to deliver the largest expansion of transit service in Seattle history, making it easier than ever for residents to get where they need to go.
The 10-year measure is funded by a 0.3% sales tax providing about $138 million annually for transportation projects and programs. The majority of the funding will pay for extra bus trips, about 275,000 bus trips a year, 95,000 more than under the current Seattle Transit Measure passed in 2020. Service investments will focus on all-day frequency, including midday, nighttime and weekend trips, east-west service, connections to light rail stations, and neighborhoods planned for housing and employment growth.
The measure will also more than double the number of free ORCA cards given to qualifying people, adding 12,000 cards for Housing Choice Voucher participants on top of the 10,000 currently given to Seattle Promise Scholars, low-income Seattle Preschool families, and Seattle Housing Authority residents, for a total of 22,000. Funding will also pay for construction projects to reduce transit delays, improvements around bus stops, Seattle Streetcar operations, and city staff positions that support and speed up future Sound Transit projects.
Mayor Katie Wilson said: "With this vote, Seattle voters are once again generously investing in building a transit system that is convenient to use, affordable to access, and that easily connects them to opportunity and prosperity. Seattle is already a great transit city, and this measure will deliver the largest expansion of transit service in our city's history, double the low-income transit passes available to Seattleites, and provide resources for faster and more reliable service."
King County Executive Girmay Zahilay said renewing the measure 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. Angela Brady, Acting Director of the Seattle Department of Transportation, said buses will run more often, from early morning to late at night and on weekends, making living without a car a more realistic option for more Seattle residents.
(Source: Seattle Mayor's Office)
Source: Seattle Mayor's Office
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：行驶在 Seattle 市中心的金县 Metro 公交车。SounderBruce 摄，CC BY-SA 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: A King County Metro bus in downtown Seattle. Photo by SounderBruce, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
