July News: Let's Keep Making History

Fans take Link to the U.S. vs. Belgium game on July 6, 2026. Photo credit: Sound Transit.

Dear friends,

On July 6th, the day the U.S. played Belgium in the World Cup, Link light rail set a new single-day ridership record. People made 309,000 trips by light rail (63,000 more than the daily average on I-5). Sound Transit also set a new monthly record in June, with 5.4 million boardings. What a great milestone for Ride Transit Month 2026! More and more people are experiencing what it’s like to get around with fast, frequent, and reliable transit instead of driving.

But we can’t take this momentum for granted. This year, we have the opportunity to win better bus service in Spokane, Pierce County, and Seattle through three exciting ballot measures. And we have our work cut out for us in the legislature next year to help Sound Transit build the damn trains all the way to Tacoma, Everett, West Seattle, and Ballard.

Washington communities are hungry for better transit, and we can help deliver it. Read more about how you can get involved below, and save the date for our 2026 annual fundraising gala, Tuxes & Trains: History Starts Here, on Friday, October 9th!

Ride on,

– Transportation Choices Coalition

WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO

Championing Better Bus Service for Pierce County

Transit riders, advocates, and community leaders at a press conference before the board vote.

On Monday, July 13th, the Pierce Transit Board voted unanimously to send a package to voters to increase the sales and use tax that funds Pierce Transit from 0.6% to 0.9%.

If approved by voters in November, this package would increase transit service in Pierce County by 47 percent! It would also:

End hourly headways
Run all buses until 10 PM on weekdays and Saturdays (current service ends at 8 PM)
Create 3 new rapid bus lines
Make transit free for seniors
Expand paratransit service

All of these changes will make taking transit a far better option for Pierce County residents, helping people save money and spend less time stuck in traffic.

Together with our partners at Tacoma On the Go, we held a press conference before the vote with transit riders, disability rights activists, labor partners, and community leaders. We delivered public comment alongside dozens of people who are eager to see this proposal become a reality. Pierce County residents deserve better bus service, and we’re excited to help lead the campaign to deliver it.

Interested in volunteering to Keep Pierce Moving? Sign up here.

Fighting for A Bold Seattle Transit Measure

Transit riders queue up to give public comment on the Seattle Transit Measure.

This morning, the Seattle City Council voted down a set of amendments to the Seattle Transit Measure that would have cut its funding, shortened its duration, and slowed down the delivery of new service.

After the amendments were proposed, TCC’s Policy Director, Katy Ricchiuto, published an op-ed in The Urbanist with our analysis and a call for people to join us at the public hearing. Together with the Transit Riders Union and Fix the L8, we mobilized transit riders to send more than 5,500 letters to Council, and more than 50 people showed up to give public comment and voice their support for a bold Seattle Transit Measure.

Thanks to this advocacy, the Seattle Transit Measure will deliver more frequent bus service on routes throughout the city, reduce wait times on nights and weekends, and double the number of free ORCA cards for low-income riders, all for just $29 more per year for the median Seattle household.

The Council will take a final vote on whether to send the measure to voters on Tuesday, July 21st, and then we’ll be working to lead a campaign to pass it in November!

Want to help pass the Seattle Transit Measure? Sign up to volunteer here.

Supporting the “Yes for Buses” Campaign in Spokane

Volunteers canvass for the Yes for Buses campaign in Spokane.

A 0.2% sales tax that helps fund Spokane Transit Authority is up for renewal this August, and we’ve been helping the Yes for Buses campaign get the word out. TCC’s Advocacy Manager, Holden Ringer, has been out in Spokane leading canvasses for the campaign and hosting a weekly phonebank.

On Tuesday, we co-hosted a community forum for nondrivers with Spokane Reimagined and Anna Zivarts of the Nondrivers Alliance. Anna held a facilitated discussion with Spokane-area community members who rely on transit and paratransit, and we shared information about what STA Prop 1 would mean for nondrivers.

While we’ve helped raise $60k for the campaign, the opposition has raised $125,000 from 3 business donors who want to cut bus service. The Yes campaign will need more financial support—and more boots on the ground—to reach as many folks as possible before the August 4th election.

Please consider donating or volunteering your time to the Yes for Buses campaign.

WHAT’S COMING UP

Save the Date for Tuxes & Trains 2026!

Please save the date for our annual fundraising gala:

✨ Tuxes & Trains 2026: History Starts Here ✨
Date: Friday, October 9th, 2026
Time: 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Venue: Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI), Seattle

This year’s theme, History Starts Here, celebrates a remarkable moment for transportation in our region. After years of advocacy, organizing, and public investment, we’re seeing transformative transit projects become reality—and together, we’re laying the groundwork for what comes next.

Join transit leaders, elected officials, planners, engineers, and advocates from across Washington for an inspiring evening of celebration, connection, and purpose. Enjoy delicious food, drinks, music, and great company as we reflect on the progress we’ve made together and help power the work still ahead.

✨ Ticket registration coming soon.

Join Us for a Rural Transportation Advocacy 101 Workshop in South King County

Join Transportation Choices Coalition, Hopelink, and the South King County Mobility Coalition for a South King County Rural Transportation Advocacy 101 Workshop!

Date: August 20th
Time: 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Location: Muckleshoot Community Center
Address: 17432 SE 392nd St, Auburn, WA 98092

Every piece of our streets, trails, and transit takes advocacy. Whether it’s a crosswalk, sidewalk, or bus stop, someone asked for it to be there. This workshop is designed for people who live or work in South King County or have a direct connection to this region. Come learn about rural transportation advocacy and practice skills to help support your community’s access to safe, sustainable, and equitable transportation.

You’ll hear from a panel of local transportation and community leaders. Then, we’ll learn about different advocacy skills, such as how to give effective testimony, and practice together.

Learn more and register here.

Attend a Ribbon Cutting for the New Wheat Line!

In 2025, we made the case for expanding Washington’s intercity bus network, and the Legislature responded.

The Intecity Bus program got $5 million in new state funding to make the 2026 World Cup events more accessible, which translated to real, on-the-ground improvements, including more frequent service on two of the state’s most heavily used routes and a new route, the Wheat Line, connecting Spokane and Pasco via Moses Lake.

The Wheat Line started operating earlier this year, and now WSDOT is holding three ribbon-cutting celebrations in Spokane, Moses Lake, and Pasco. Come on out to celebrate this win for rural mobility in Washington!

Wheat Line Ribbon Cutting Ceremonies:
Friday, August 28th, 11:00 AM at Spokane Intermodal Center, 221 W First Ave, Spokane
Monday, August 31st, 11:00 AM at Grant Transit Authority, 116 W 5th Ave, Moses Lake
Tuesday, September 1st, 11:00 AM at 22nd Avenue Transit Center, N 22nd Ave, Pasco

Washington’s Intercity Bus Network

STAFF PICK

Less Driving Is Possible, and We’re Making It So

Photo of a King County Metro bus on I-5 by Oran Viriyincy.

I’ve spent most of my career believing that people, working together, can change the world. But our dependence on driving can sometimes feel like an immovable force—so deeply embedded in our culture and our built environment that we forget it wasn’t inevitable. It was built, one policy decision at a time.

That’s why I was so struck by Less Driving Is Possible, a report by Frontier Group. The data shows that Washington has reduced per-person driving more than any other state over the past 30 years. The shift didn’t happen overnight, and it didn’t happen by accident. Investments in frequent, reliable transit, safer places to walk and bike, and policies like Youth Ride Free (which TCC helped win in 2022) have gradually expanded people’s choices—and, over time, begun to reshape what Washingtonians can expect from their transportation system.

Reading this article reminded me that history isn’t just something we inherit. It’s something we make.

Susan Gleason

Associate Director of Development

WHAT WE’RE READING

Pierce Transit Goes to Voters for First Funding Increase Since 2002 — The Urbanist

“Laura Svancarek, who is executive director of the transportation advocacy group Tacoma On The Go, stressed that the measure is about delivering reliability for riders, and a sense of dignity rather than being a second-class citizen while waiting for sporadic buses.”

Seattle Transit Advocates Push Back on Watering Down Transit Measure Renewal — The Urbanist

“At a rally of transit advocates before the public hearing, Greg Woodfill, president of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 587, noted the measure is extremely likely to pass based on the huge margins the last measure ran up in 2020. He said the push to shrink the proposal in the name of progressive values is misguided.”

Op-Ed: Why Spokane Needs to Keep Its Transit Momentum— The Urbanist

“I recently joined a canvassing kick-off with the Yes for Buses campaign that knocked on over 1,000 doors. We heard just how important STA is to helping folks get around.”

Getting There: Wheat Line offers bus service between Spokane, Moses Lake and Pasco, thanks to FIFA World Cup — The Spokesman-Review

“Stopping also in Cheney, Sprague, Ritzville, Othello, Connell and Mesa, the Washington State Department of Transportation’s Wheat Line began service May 1 and will continue until at least 2030.”

How a maintenance crew turned their commutes into a multimodal adventure — WSDOT Blog

“It started with crew member Lauro. While he used to live a five-minute drive from work, moving to Federal Way had him rethinking his commute. When the new Federal Way light rail station opened, he got more serious about buying a scooter – and when gas prices surged this spring, he took the plunge.”