Over the last week, the Washington State Legislature has been working to finalize its transportation budget. Commute Seattle has been watching this process closely and organizing alongside fellow Transportation Management Associations (TMAs), Move Redmond and Downtown on the Go, as well as CTR implementors and transportation advocates across the state.
The initial House Budget proposal cut 60% of funding to the State’s Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) budget. Thanks to quick organizing alongside our TMA partners, the amended House budget restores full funding to the CTR program!
What’s Been Happening with the State Budget?
On March 24th, the Washington State Senate and House released their budget proposals. The House transportation budget proposal reduced Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) funding by 60% and eliminated other key Transportation Demand Management programs, including Regional Mobility Grants and Rideshare funding.
Why This Matters
Commute Trip Reduction isn’t just about business—it’s about people. More than just reducing traffic, CTR makes the lives of working Washingtonians easier. It helps workers save time and money on their commutes and ensures more people have access to job opportunities through reliable and affordable transportation benefits.
As part of Washington’s Clean Air Act, Commute Trip Reduction supports sustainability by reducing emissions and traffic congestion. As more employers implement return-to-office policies, the demand for sustainable, affordable commute options is growing. At the same time, federal transportation funding is declining, making state support more essential than ever.
A 60% funding cut from the state transportation budget would harm working people and communities—not just in Seattle but across the state—by making commutes harder and more expensive and worsening air quality.
Investing in commute trip reduction is a cost-effective way to strengthen Washington’s transportation network and improve quality of life for all residents.
What Commute Seattle Has Done
Commute Seattle quickly mobilized alongside regional Transportation Management Associations and CTR implementers to urge the house to restore full CTR funding in the budget proposal.
In less than 24 hours, over 20 organizations signed a comment letter requesting CTR funding be fully restored and 10 people testified at the House transportation hearing, including Commute Seattle Executive Director, Alex Hudson.
Where Things Stand
On March 27th, the House Transportation Committee adopted an amendment to the budget proposal that will restore $5.7 million in funding to the CTR program.
We are grateful to Chair Fey and the members of the House Transportation Committee for recognizing the value of Commute Trip Reduction and restoring funding to this program to help working Washingtonians access sustainable, affordable transportation options!
The transportation budgets in the House and Senate reflect some key differences in revenue and expenditures, so now the two bodies will need to reconcile the budgets and come out with a final proposal to vote on and ultimately be signed by the Governor.
We’ll keep watching throughout this process to ensure that the 500,000 Washingtonians who work at CTR-affected companies have what they need to get to their jobs in a fast, reliable, and affordable way!