The Transit Riders Union is thrilled to announce a big victory in our ongoing Affordable Transit Campaign. The budget approved by the Seattle City Council on November 23 included $1 million to fund transit passes for low-income high school and middle school students. Thank you so much to everyone who worked on this campaign, to the more than 1,000 people who signed our petition, and especially to the courageous students at Rainier Beach High School students who organized a march to City Hall in July and an amazing Town Hall forum last month.
But we’re not done yet. We believe that all youth in Seattle and King County should have year-round access to public transit. Enabling youth to travel freely to school, activities, and jobs will help to close the opportunity gap, break the school-to-prison pipeline, and combat climate change by increasing public transit use. We can win this, but it will require a strong and united community effort to secure cooperation between the city, the county and the school district to get it done. We are seeking students, parents, teachers and community supporters to help us move this project forward. If you are interested, please email us at contact@transitriders.org.