Seattle voters will decide renewed transit measure after council approval
Seattle voters will decide in November whether to replace the city’s expiring transit measure with a larger, 10-year sales and use tax. The Seattle City Council approved the proposal unanimously on July 21, 2026, and Mayor Katie B. Wilson signed the resulting ordinance on July 30. The action sends the tax question forward but does not impose the tax.
The proposition is set for the November 3, 2026, election. If voters approve it and the required implementation steps are completed, collections could begin no earlier than April 1, 2027—the day after the current Seattle Transit Measure expires.
What voters would decide
The proposed measure would authorize up to a 0.30% Seattle sales and use tax for a term of up to 10 years, ending March 31, 2037. It would replace the current 0.15% Seattle Transit Measure, which expires March 31, 2027.
In practical terms, the proposed rate is double the current transit-measure rate. It remains a voter decision: the council’s approval and the mayor’s signature authorize submission of the proposition, but the 0.30% tax would not take effect unless Seattle voters approve it.
What the city estimates it would raise
Seattle financial documents estimate average annual revenue of about $138 million over the proposed 10-year term. The estimates call for approximately $88.9 million in 2027 and $120 million in 2028, the first full year of collections.
The legislation does not appropriate the money. If voters approve the measure, funds would be appropriated through future city budget legislation within the voter-approved spending categories. The city’s documents also anticipate future agreements with King County Metro and additional legislative actions to implement the purchased service.
Seattle central staff cites an SDOT estimate that the proposed tax would cost a two-person median-income household about $58 per year. Actual household costs would vary with taxable purchases.
Where the money is intended to go
The largest proposed use is expanded King County Metro service purchased by Seattle. City documents project an increase from roughly 180,000 to 280,000 annual bus trips, described in the council’s announcement as a 47% expansion of service. The figures are program projections, not guarantees of specific routes, frequencies or schedules.
The proposal also includes funding for Seattle Streetcar operations, transit and accessibility infrastructure, and safety-related investments. The ordinance allows support for local implementation of recommendations from the King County Regional Transit Safety Task Force, including possible investments in behavioral-health specialists, transit police, security officers, safety ambassadors, fare-enforcement officers or other safety resources above baseline levels. Those investments would still depend on future appropriations and implementation decisions.
Transit-access programs would continue for qualifying residents, including low-income households, seniors, people with disabilities, youth, students and Seattle Housing Authority residents. The fiscal note proposes fully subsidized passes for up to 12,000 additional Seattle residents participating in the Housing Choice Voucher program.
Other proposed uses include support for electric-transit priorities in the Duwamish Valley and South Seattle, areas identified in city documents as overburdened and highly impacted by air pollution. The measure would also support city staffing for planning, permitting and project delivery tied to Sound Transit 3 projects, including West Seattle Link, Ballard Link and the Graham Street infill station.
What happens next
The signed ordinance directs the City Clerk to submit the proposition to King County Elections for the November 3 election. The measure’s ballot status does not make the proposed tax effective. Voters must approve it, and the City must complete the required legal, budget and implementation steps before collections begin.
The ordinance says a replacement measure approved by voters could begin collecting revenue no earlier than April 1, 2027, after the current measure expires. The fiscal note estimates that collections would begin on that date.
Seattle Department of Transportation projections say that without renewal, the city could lose the current funding source for roughly 180,000 purchased Metro bus trips, transit-access programs, Streetcar operations, transit infrastructure and staffing connected to Sound Transit projects. Those are city projections, not guaranteed outcomes; future service and budget decisions would still be made by the City, King County Metro and other agencies.
For Seattle residents, the central choice is whether to authorize a new local transit tax at twice the current rate in exchange for proposed service expansion and continued access, infrastructure, safety and Sound Transit-related investments. The tax itself will not take effect unless voters approve it.
Sources
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