Annual Report 2022

Work and Wins

2022 was an exciting year for Transportation Choices’ policy and advocacy work with huge wins for transportation funding at the state level. We also kicked off new youth programming, increased our statewide reach and engagement, and built out our mobility justice work. Read more below.

Move Ahead Washington

In 2022, Transportation Choices Coalition and our partners were instrumental in winning a paradigm-shifting transformation of transportation spending in Washington — $5.2 billion in investments toward the emission-reducing solutions of transit, walking, and biking through the Move Ahead Washington package. It took a vast coalition of organizations, advocates, and legislators working over multiple sessions to pass this package with everyone from youth transit riders to the legislators playing a role. And it was worth it.

For the first time, multimodal investments surpassed new highway capacity spending. Transportation Choices is ecstatic about the unprecedented investment in transit and mobility and the benefits they will bring to our communities.

Not only that, but Move Ahead Washington provides resources for every transit system in the state to go fare-free for riders 18 and under across all modes: buses, light rail, paratransit, ferries, and even Amtrak. The only program like this in the country, Youth Ride Free creates an immediate benefit to the 1.4 million Washingtonians 18 and under — creating a passport of access to opportunity for a new generation of transit riders and decreasing transportation costs for families.

During the It Takes Transportation campaign, which provided the final push we needed to bring MAWA across the finish line, we brought in new allies from across a broad range of the progressive movement, including housing, healthcare, human services, and labor. Together we:

• Held two rallies and authored a letter signed by more than 125 local elected officials calling for a transformational transportation package.
• Sent action alerts that generated thousands of letters to legislators.
• Organized panels of young people from across the state to show up and ask their legislative leaders to take definitive action and pass a package.

All of this shifted the possibility for policy action and won billions of dollars of investment in climate and mobility justice for the long haul.

Generation Transit – Engaging Our Youth

Nearly 1.4 million Washingtonians 18 and under are getting free transit thanks to Move Ahead Washington and its $1.45 billion Transit Support Grant program for agencies that adopt a zero-fare policy for youth. Once fully implemented, the “Youth Ride Free” program will support Washington’s transit agencies, Washington State Ferries, and Amtrak in providing zero-cost transit service to young Washingtonians. Youth Ride Free decreases transportation costs for families, helps provide reliable and safe transportation to and from school and after-school activities for youth, and accelerates an overall shift away from car culture.

Increasing Our Statewide Impact

Transportation Choices increased our statewide impact this year by engaging with more partners than ever across Washington. We showed up and organized in the Tri-Cities to defend Ben Franklin Transit’s funding and the riders who depend on its services. We convened advocates, policy staff, agency representatives, and elected officials during our weekly “Washington Transportation Advocates” call. And we traveled the state (virtually and physically) talking with transit advocates, workers, and riders about mobility justice, Youth Ride Free, and supporting the transit workforce.

Convening Transportation Advocates and Workers Across the State

Transportation Choices connects advocates and workers from across the state in a weekly convening called Washington Transportation Advocates, or “WATA.” This call has grown from a pandemic response tool during the COVID pandemic into a critical component of our advocacy efforts and statewide engagement. We host dozens of informed and energized advocates, policy staff, agency representatives, and even elected officials from around the state who bring updates, questions, and meaningful opportunities to the group.

For all their pitfalls, online meeting spaces have provided an easy way for us to connect regardless of geographic location. We regularly have attendees from Yakima, Redmond, Pierce County, Spokane, Ellensburg, Snohomish County, Whatcom, Tri-Cities, and Port Angeles, as well as numerous organizations and agencies representing the Puget Sound or Washington state. Our email updates go out to hundreds of individuals, many of whom keep the conversation going between meetings on our WATA Slack channel.

Mobility Justice Work

In 2022 we grew our mobility justice work significantly. After important progress in reforming fare enforcement policies at both Sound Transit and King County Metro, Transportation Choices used our statewide reach, relationships, and familiarity with transportation policy to help further reduce the harm from policing and enforcement in transportation. In Washington, we convened advocates from across the state interested in advancing equity issues and offered stipends to partner organizations doing the work. On a national level, we were given the opportunity to sit on the Transportation Equity Caucus steering committee where we co-developed recommendations on equitable safety strategies for organizations across the country. These partnerships led to a mobility justice agenda at the 2023 state legislature, including two bills that promote statewide changes moving away from punitive measures and focusing limited public resources on true safety efforts. To support these efforts, we launched our “Free to Walk Washington” campaign, which aims to repeal Washington’s harmful jaywalking laws.