Pierce Transit sales tax hike would mean more service, free rides for seniors

By Isha Trivedi | The News Tribune (TNS)

PIERCE COUNTY, WASH. — Most Pierce County residents will vote on whether to raise sales tax to fund Pierce Transit this November.

A unanimous vote from the transit agency’s board of commissioners on July 13 has started the process to ask voters to increase Pierce Transit’s sales tax rate from 0.6% to 0.9%. If voters approve it, the measure could raise around $64 million annually for Pierce Transit starting April 2027, supporting additions like more frequent service, new routes in Northeast Tacoma and Puyallup and free rides for people 65 and up.

“We’re really feeling the excitement from the community,” Pierce Transit Board of Commissioners chair Kristina Walker said at the meeting. “I know Tacoma and Pierce County are ready for this ballot measure.”

The measure is one of several big-ticket items that’s on track to appear on the November ballot for Pierce County residents, including a controversial set of charter review amendments that could result in Sheriff Keith Swank’s departure and a proposal to bolster tenants rights in Tacoma.

Pierce Transit’s current sales tax rate is the lowest compared to its peer agencies, according to a presentation from the July 13 meeting. Spokane Transit, King County Metro and Kitsap Transit all have 0.8%, 0.9% and 1.1% sales tax rates, respectively.

Pierce Transit is forecasting that its reserves, around $175 million in 2026, will by 2032 dip below the roughly $50 million required by the agency’s code.

Pierce Transit, which is largely funded by sales-tax revenue, has maintained a 0.6% sales tax rate since 2002. It tried and failed in 2011 and 2012 to get voter approval on a sales tax hike – the first time with about 45% yes votes and the second time narrowly failing with 49%.

Walker, also a Tacoma City Council member, said the agency has considered the possibility of bringing such a proposal to the voters again every year since 2012 but felt this year would be the best time.

“Stars aligned,” she told The News Tribune. “It’s a good year to go to the ballot: Voter turnout in November should be really high. We did polling that suggests people want it. We have staff in place that has been working on a package that makes sense.”

Walker said Pierce Transit faced long delays in bus deliveries given supply-chain issues during the pandemic. Now that the agency has caught up on those delays, it’s better positioned to improve service if voters approve a new sales tax, she said.

“We need affordable transportation as costs rise,” she said. “So the moment feels right.”

Andrew Austin, who is working on the campaign to support the measure, said despite being an additional tax the measure could help reduce costs for people served by Pierce Transit as costs continue to rise. Expanding transit could make it easier for residents to decide against buying a car or relying less on their car, he said.

“Congestion’s gotten worse, and our transit service hasn’t kept up,” he told The News Tribune. “So it’s time to have a conversation around what a more robust investment in public transit would do for Pierce County.”

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