Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Around the Block

How Seattle Avoided the Transit Death Spiral to Turn Around Its Bus System

Since it raised funds to expand transit service in 2014, Seattle has made big strides where other cities have mostly lost ground.

In 2014, King County Metro was facing a revenue shortfall, thanks to declining sales tax receipts following the recession.

But unlike other cities, Seattle didn't settle for service cuts, which reduce ridership and lead to further cuts -- the dreaded transit death spiral.

Instead, Seattle voters invested more in transit by adding $60 to vehicle registration fees and increasing the sales tax by 0.1 percent. Not long after, sales tax receipts roared back to life as well. As a result, Seattle was able to improve bus frequency, expand service hours, and offer cheaper fares to young people and riders with low incomes.

The measure was called Prop 1, or the Seattle Transportation Benefit District (STBD). Stephen Fesler at the Urbanist explains how it paid off:

In the first year of the STBD, the city invested the equivalent of 270,000 annual service hours into the Seattle bus system. That was spread across 68 routes, boosting frequency on a lot of routes and restoring others (e.g. Route 47) that had been eliminated. Service hours also went toward reducing crowding at peak times, improving on-time performance, and making routes more frequent when demand is highest. The STBD has put a particular emphasis on some core routes such as the 5, 10, 48, and RapidRide C and D Lines. Annual service hours paid by Seattle now total more than 308,000, an astounding sum that in a number of cases is backing more than 30% of the total service hours for city bus routes.

Transit ridership is seeing healthy growth in Seattle. A significant amount of this has been on frequent transit bus routes and light rail. In fact, bus-based transit has seen some of the largest gains on the RapidRide C, D, and E Lines. The RapidRide C Line, for instance, has experienced a 40% growth in ridership since 2015. This growth was partially induced by 71,000 additional service hours (21% of the new service hours funded by the STBD in 2015-2016) that were showered onto the RapidRide lines during the first year of STBD investments. The net result was more frequency and higher ridership. But another feature of ballooning transit ridership has been led by light rail with more than 100% growth since 2015. Two new stations in Capitol Hill and at the University of Washington are the primary drivers of that.

Without that investment at that key moment, says Fesler, Seattle may not have managed to reduce drive-alone rates to downtown to an all-time low. Seattle is succeeding at the same time other cities have lost ground. Cities like Washington, DC could learn a thing or two from this.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Tuesday’s Headlines Pay High Prices for Highway Repairs

If the U.S. didn't spend so much money on repaving roads, there might be more left over for other things, like transit.

October 28, 2025

Op-Ed: The Norfolk Southern–Union Pacific Merger Is Wrong for Rail

This advocacy organization argues it's time to reject Wall Street's massive power grab and re-nationalize America's rails — before it's too late.

October 28, 2025

Crunching Numbers to Curb Crashes: Using Federal Data to Make Our Roads Safer

Upholding federal data transparency is key to understanding and reversing the alarming level of crashes, fatalities, and strained infrastructure. Here's where we have more work to do.

October 28, 2025

Ugly Truth: Federal ICE Raid Push Aside Local Cops, Safety and Free Speech

President Trump's heavily armed and masked immigration troops are turning American cities into battlegrounds — and eliminating accountability and free speech in the public realm.

October 27, 2025

Monday’s Headlines Dust Off Duffy

The transportation secretary has been busy beefing with California, SEPTA and Elon Musk.

October 27, 2025

This Bill Would Help America Build More Housing Near Transit

A bipartisan group is pushing a policy to incentivize transit-oriented development across the country.

October 27, 2025
See all posts