Seattle mayor pitches sales tax increase to boost bus service

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson hopes to double the city's taxes that support increased bus transit through a public ballot measure this fall, she announced Tuesday at a news conference at City Hall.

The 10-year renewal of the Seattle Transit Measure would charge 0.3%, or 30 cents per $100 purchase, up from the current 0.15% rate that expires after this year.

Voters must approve a ballot measure, as they did six years ago by a landslide 80.3% yes count.

The mayor's search for money befits her campaign themes last fall, when the self-described socialist defeated incumbent Bruce Harrell, as well as her background as co-founder of the Transit Riders Union nonprofit and a campaigner for previous tax measures.

These funds support more-frequent bus service, which would increase to an average 765 trips per day beyond what King County Metro would otherwise supply. Those bus runs are tailored to lower-income and more diverse neighborhoods - from adding capacity to the Aurora Avenue E Line to creating a 15-minute frequency for Route 60 in White Center, Georgetown and Beacon Hill.

Smaller pieces of the sales tax would subsidize up to 22,000 low-income ORCA fare cards, bus station improvements and Metro Flex neighborhood vans.

Wilson's proposed package would allocate $96.1 million per year toward all-week bus service - and in a new twist, adds $6.1 million per year to support Sound Transit 3 light rail expansions, such as the future Graham Street Station in Rainier Valley, and city permitting staff. An additional $23.4 million a year would help sustain Seattle's two streetcars at First Hill and South Lake Union. Some $3.5 million a year would improve streets and bus stops, for easier flow at so-called pinch points.

More transit is an affordability strategy, Wilson said during her announcement.

We've made it easier for a family to be car-free, or car-light," she said. "That adds hundreds or thousands of dollars to their yearly budget."

At that higher rate, the new version would collect an average of $138 million per year, said Angela Brady, acting city transportation director.

Among other uses, it would fund more buses per day along Denny Way, Brady said. Wilson recently announced plans to convert a general traffic lane into a full-length eastbound bus lane, in hopes to unstick the notoriously slow Route 8 bus.

The City Council would have to send the new tax measure to the ballot.

Along a separate track, Wilson nudged the whole Sound Transit governing board last week to study "a future revenue package" of voter-approved taxes to bail out the regional ST3 expansion from its $35 billion funding shortfall and prevent the scrapping of Ballard's future light rail line.

Urban Puget Sound spends far more than other U.S. regions to build and operate transit overall, and also ranks among the highest for gas taxes and highway cost.

A typical two-person household making $124,000 a year would pay $58 for the Seattle Transit Measure sales tax if it's passed Nov. 3, city staff estimated.

Washington state is already ranked among the worst for regressive taxes, including sales taxes, which require lower-income people to pay a greater share of their limited dollars than wealthier people. Within Seattle, the mayor's proposal would boost state and local sales taxes from a total of 10.55% to 10.7%.

Despite arguments by the mayor and advocacy groups that Seattle has a transit shortage, buses are far from overcrowded like commuters experienced in the late 2010s.

King County Metro reported 274,000 average weekday passengers in March countywide, a number that is rebounding but still one-third below its 410,000-rider peak in 2019. Many switched to light rail, while weekend use of all transit is soaring.

Charles Prestrud, transportation analyst at the Washington Policy Center, argues these taxes erode social equity, because 81% of low-income commuters drive or carpool. Rising taxes are "making the region less affordable," he wrote this spring.

"Throwing money into ST3 is money in a black hole, where we will not see any benefits for decades," Prestrud said Tuesday.

At the same time elected officials talk of more taxes, Metro's fares are rarely enforced and cover less than 10% of operating cost.

Last year, Metro reported no routes where more spending is needed to reduce bus crowds, though several places endure late or unreliable service.

Wilson replied the tax's main purpose is providing frequent buses throughout the week.

"And I'll also say that, you know, ridership is climbing back up," she said. "So we're looking forward to a future where ridership is surpassing and continuing to grow past prepandemic levels."

The original version last decade included a $60 car-tab fee. Asked why she didn't seek one in 2026, the mayor replied car-tab fees would be controversial and more likely to provoke organized opposition, rather than a sales-tax bump, which she conceded "is far from a perfect tool.

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This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 4:55 PM.