When ballots go out in the mail this week, the success of “Proposition 1” could mean the difference between a major expansion for bus transit in Pierce County and a longer-term decline in service, Pierce Transit officials say.

If voters approve the measure, the agency plans a 47% service expansion with a long list of promised improvements in bus frequency, timing, and routes. In exchange, people in its service area would pay higher sales taxes beginning in April of next year for many retail goods and restaurant meals, though groceries, rent and certain other daily necessities would be exempt. It would be a 0.3 percent sales tax increase.

If voters reject the measure, Pierce Transit says it would have to “begin planning for cost-saving measures” and notes that rising costs eventually could require “service reductions” beginning between 2029 and 2031. It says it would also have to continue operating its existing fleet and make other plans to reduce costs based on its current service levels.

The ballot question comes as the agency, which serves Pierce County and shares some of its operations with the larger regional agency Sound Transit, expects to see an increase of roughly 11% in ridership by the end of this year. Its most recent annual count at the end of 2025 showed roughly 7.8 million riders across its system, which also includes shuttles, on-demand service and seasonal runners. Transit officials hope the new tax will keep up with regional population growth and ridership.

The officials estimate the tax increase to bring approximately $64 million in additional revenue in the first 12 months alone. Slightly over 80% of that revenue would go toward system expansion and roughly 20% would go to future projects and facility improvements, transit officials say. What changes will riders see if Proposition 1 passes?

The soonest thing to take effect if the measure passes would be more buses on the weekends, Pierce Transit CEO Mike Griffus said in an interview.

“If you vote yes on this, immediately, we can do weekend service, because we have the buses,” said Griffus, explaining that many buses otherwise sit idle on the weekends.

On Saturdays, nine routes throughout Tacoma and in eastern Pierce County would increase in frequency to every half hour, up from hourly. On Sundays, 14 routes throughout Tacoma would receive more frequent service, bringing the total of half-hourly buses from four to 18.

The agency promises that wait times will eventually decrease throughout the system with the additional funding. The agency posted an interactive map on its site detailing each route that would change if the measure passes.

According to the agency’s summaries, the new weekend service would increase bus frequency to every 20 minutes on three routes on Saturdays and Sundays, which currently run every half hour through central Tacoma and Lakewood and from Tacoma to Spanaway.

After it hires more drivers and buys approximately 60 new buses, Pierce Transit says it plans to eliminate hour-long waits on all of its weekday routes, bringing the longest wait to 45 minutes. There would still be hour-long waits for buses on Routes 10 and 45 in Tacoma and in Lakewood, Gig Harbor and east of Puyallup on weekends.

Agency spokesperson Stacy Van Horne did not have an exact time frame for when the weekday frequency changes would take effect, but said it would occur after the new weekend service is added, since new buses take two to three years to arrive, she said.

“As actual implementation begins, timing may shift and we will be communicating that with the community,” she told The News Tribune in a statement.

Buses could eventually come every 15-20 minutes on three routes serving central Tacoma, Lakewood and Spanaway, which previously ran every half hour, according to agency summaries. A total of seven buses across the system would then run on the 15-20 minute schedule, up from the current number of four.

The agency would also increase the number of half-hourly routes on weekdays from 18 to 24, with the six more frequent routes primarily serving the north end of Tacoma and northeastern Pierce County, according to the map.

The tax increase would also pay for later schedules on 23 routes throughout the system, with service running until 10 p.m. on weekdays and Saturdays. The new routes and later schedules are expected to cost more than $28 million per year, excluding the cost of new buses.

Other eventual expansions include roughly $300,000 annually in seasonal services, like connections to fairs, sports events and festivals. It would also add seasonal waterfront connectors in Gig Harbor and Ruston.

Over $600,000 per year in light rail connection improvements would also change the schedules on eight local bus routes across the system to match up with regional light rail in Tacoma, Fife and Federal Way.

Those would also include a new route along Sixth Avenue that would run every 15 minutes and replace the current route between Tacoma Community College and downtown Tacoma. A second change would combine two routes, 52 and 55, to create one long line between Tacoma Community College and Parkland.

The agency would spend $1.1 million and $1.3 million for fare-free bus rides for people over 65 and paratransit rides, respectively, Van Horne said. The free rides for seniors could also come as early as April of next year, she added.

Once they have enough buses and operators, the system would eventually get four additional routes. One would reinstate the regular Route 63 between downtown and Northeast Tacoma, starting on Commerce Street and ending near Norpoint Park. Also in Tacoma, another would start on Commerce Street and travel via the Port of Tacoma to the 72nd Street Transit Center.

East of Puyallup, a new route would begin at the South Hill Mall and end at the Puyallup Sounder commuter rail station. And in Lakewood, a new route would travel between the Lakewood Transit Center and Tacoma General.

The new routes are estimated to cost roughly $7.1 million annually, not including the cost of the new buses. How much sales tax revenue would Proposition 1 raise for Pierce Transit?

Pierce Transit currently charges a 0.6% sales tax, which hasn’t been increased since 2002 and transportation advocates note is one of the lowest for transit authorities in the state.

The 0.3% increase means people would pay three additional cents for every $10 they spend. The measure would continue indefinitely unless changed again by voters, since the ballot proposition does not include a sunset provision.

Overall sales tax rates in Pierce Transit’s service area currently range from 9.06% in unincorporated areas to 10.5% in Tacoma. That means that currently, a $10 purchase in Tacoma costs a total of $11.05 with sales tax. That would increase to $11.08, including other taxes, if the measure is approved.

This is simply too much to pay, said John Miles, a Tacoma resident who opposes the measure.

In an interview with The News Tribune, Miles called himself “100% pro-transit” and said he rides the bus every day to work for the state revenue department (though he stressed that he doesn’t speak on the agency’s behalf). He would love more frequent buses, he said, like better service on Sunday mornings when he’s on his way to church. But sales tax isn’t the way to do it, he said.

A higher sales tax would hit people with lower incomes the hardest, he said, since they don’t have as much to spend on everyday purchases.

Miles, who also made an unsuccessful city council bid several years ago, wrote a statement against the tax in the Pierce County voter guide. He said he is not part of an organized opposition campaign, but wrote the statement because no one had responded to the call for an opposing voice.

“Maybe there’s going to be one no vote,” he said. “But I think it’s important for people to think about if they vote yes.”

Instead of charging taxpayers more, Miles said, voters should convince the state Legislature to find other ways of funding regional transit besides sales tax.

Pierce Transit is limited by state law from seeking other forms of funding from voters besides sales tax.

Voters could ask state Rep. Jake Fey (D- Tacoma), who currently chairs the House Transportation Committee, and his colleagues to find other ways to fund transit, Miles said.

“If a thousand people contact (Fey) and say: ‘We need you to do something,’ he might respond to that,” he said. “It might not be easy, but we don’t have to do something easy.”

In response, Fey told The News Tribune in an interview that sales tax is an effective way to fund regional transit because it keeps up with inflation, unlike other sources of funding, such as from the Climate Commitment Act. It also generally receives less opposition than utility tax increases and is not subject to caps like property taxes, he said.

Fey acknowledged that the tax has a higher impact on poorer people, but he also said the increased transit funding would benefit those who don’t have the money to buy a car or are otherwise limited to public transit. He also said he supports sales tax exemptions for lower-income people, but said that is a long way off politically.

“Until we get to that point, yes, it is a problem, no doubt about it,” he said in an interview. “None of these taxes are perfect.”

The lawmaker, who lives in Northeast Tacoma and says he looks forward to expanded service there, has endorsed the measure and says he has contributed his own money to the campaign.

He added that he is hopeful that there is less opposition than the last time the measure went before voters and pointed to an endorsement by the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber.

Another Northeast Tacoma resident, Treveon Parish, said he hears a lot of people’s affordability concerns when advocating on behalf of the Keep Pierce Moving campaign, which supports the measure. The campaign has spent slightly more than $30,000 in support of the measure so far, according to state data.

Parish told The News Tribune that he empathizes with people’s concerns and explains that certain everyday items, like groceries and personal hygiene products, are exempt.

Better access to transit is worth the couple-cent increase in tax, he said, noting that he had to pause his studies in social sciences and pre-law at Tacoma Community College when Pierce Transit changed service to Northeast Tacoma from regular buses to schedule-in-advance rides during the pandemic.

Ultimately, he said, he hopes the community can “do our best with what we have” and pass the tax increase.

“It’s moments like these that we move to push the envelope forward despite the hardships,” he said.

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