A week after Pierce Transit rolled out a proposed sales tax increase to fund its services, opinions from those who would pay it are mixed.

If passed in the November election, the increase, finalized by its board last Monday, would raise taxes from 0.6% to 0.9% and generate roughly $64 million per year beginning next April. The system, which receives much of its revenue through sales tax, has not had a funding increase since 2002.

“Without new funding sources, we cannot increase services in the future,” said Pierce County spokesperson Penny Grellier in a statement. “This measure is one way to secure that funding.”

The increase will translate to 3 additional cents for every $10 spent on purchases, Grellier said. It will apply to purchases like clothing, electronics and dining out, but not to groceries, rent, mortgage or most healthcare-related costs.

If approved, the funding will help support more routes, expanded morning, evening, weekend and special event service, and free rides for seniors, Grellier said. It will also help avoid potential service disruptions starting in 2031 because of inflation and other operating costs, she said.

In interviews with The News Tribune, Pierce Transit users and county residents differed regarding whether the additional tax would be worth it.

While waiting for her bus to leave the Tacoma Mall transit center, Tacoma resident Corinn Davis, 48, said the transit system in Pierce County is much safer and cleaner than what she experiences in Seattle, where she commutes for work regularly. But it would be helpful to have more frequent buses, especially during late-night hours, she said.

“If somebody can catch a bus at 2 a.m., or 4 a.m. or if they make more bus routes, they would generate so much money, because we love our bus system here,” she said.

She plans to vote for the increase in November because she trusts the local government to spend the money wisely.

“I like the idea that] if you’re going to pay taxes on something, this is where it’s going,” she said.

Lorenzo Jackson, who sat outside the Tacoma Mall after buying clothes, including a $50 pair of pants, said the proposal “doesn’t sound unreasonable.”

The 35-year-old Tacoma resident said he used to rely on buses regularly, and more routes could decrease the number of transfers needed to get from place to place.

“Things are expensive as is, so what’s a small increase to help out with something that’s kind of needed?” he said.

Others weren’t as supportive.

Jena Hoppis, 34, who spoke to The News Tribune while sitting in her car outside Best Buy in Tacoma, said the higher sales tax on clothing will keep her from supporting the increase.

As a low-income single mother living in the city, buying clothes for her school-age children several times per year adds up quickly, she said, even when she shops at secondhand stores.

“Clothes are essential – you need that. Electronics you don’t need,” she said. “People who are buying electronics probably have money, where they can put that extra three cents.”

Tacoma resident Rosemary DeLuna-Sanchez, 26, who commutes on public transit every day while saving for a new car, told The News Tribune she is completely opposed to a sales tax increase.

“Sales tax has more of an effect on lower-class individuals,” she said. She compared Washington, which does not have a statewide income tax, to neighboring Oregon, which relies on income taxes to fund services.

“I don’t like that Washington relies more on sales tax than income tax,” she said.

Free rides for older people also don’t justify a higher sales tax, said Annamarie Brodigan-Williams, 75, who spoke to The News Tribune on the 1 bus through downtown Tacoma and said she has no other options while she searches for an affordable mechanic for her car.

She travels two hours by bus and light rail to visit friends for quilting in Des Moines every Thursday, she said, and entered and exited the bus using a walker.

Getting on and off the buses is inconvenient for people her age, she said, and her budget can handle the $4 round-trip fare, so a waiver wouldn’t make a difference.

“I don’t need it as a senior citizen,” she said. “If you’re going to lower the rates, lower it for the commuters who have to go to work and school.”

In response, Grellier, the Pierce Transit spokesperson, said the fee waiver for seniors was decided based on data showing that about 40% of the roughly 133,000 residents who moved to the county since 2010 were over age 65.

Children under age 19 can already ride for free, she and her colleagues added in an interview at Pierce Transit’s headquarters, and the system offers financial assistance for people of other ages.

State law only allows county transit systems to be funded directly through sales tax increases, they said, and the categories of purchases that apply are not flexible. Matching grants and other reinvestments in the community help the money go further, they added.

“This plan is so reflective of what we have heard from [the community, and deeply rooted in community voice,” said Pierce Transit Strategic Engagement Coordinator Chelsea Talbert, who said the proposal came after years of community outreach.

“It’s numbers; it’s buses; it’s frequency, but really this is about creating a system that’s more reliable, more accessible and supports greater independence for folks,” she said.

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