Pierce Transit riders have until July 15 to tell the agency how bus routes, schedules, and capital spending should change over the next six years.

The draft 2026-2031 Transit Development Plan maps out service changes, operating costs, and capital projects for the 300-square-mile service area that includes Tacoma, Lakewood, Puyallup, and University Place. The agency posted the draft on June 25 and opened a public comment period that runs through July 15.

The TDP is a state-required document Pierce Transit submits to the Washington State Department of Transportation each year. This cycle's draft addresses planned service and operating changes, capital expenses, a multiyear financial plan, and projects of regional significance through 2031.

Pierce Transit's 0.6% sales tax, its primary funding source, has not increased since 2002. The agency is separately developing a ballot-measure package that would ask voters to approve a 3-cent-per-$10 sales tax increase (a 0.3% bump, from 0.6% to 0.9%) to expand service. The Board of Commissioners has not yet voted on whether to place that measure on the ballot.

The TDP itself does not authorize new taxes, but it sets the planning framework that any expanded service would follow.

How to weigh in

Written comments go to Senior Planner Anna Petersen by Wednesday, July 15:

A public hearing is scheduled at the Board of Commissioners meeting on Monday, July 13. The Board will consider formal adoption at its Monday, August 10 meeting.

The full draft is available at PierceTransit.org/public-documents.