People Commuting to Work by Public Transportation

People living in Seattle, people with a disability, and people with incomes less than 400% of the federal poverty level were more likely to commute on public transportation than the King County average.  

Between 2018-2022, 9.3% of workers in King County commuted to work on public transportation.  

  • Trends: The percentage of people who commuted to work on public transportation in King County has decreased from 14.9% in 2019 to 6.3% in 2022. Percentages of people who took public transportation to work have also decreased for Seattle, from 25.1% in 2019 to 11.5% in 2022 and for King County outside of Seattle, from 8.8% in 2019 to 3.3% in 2022. These changes may have been due to the COVID-19 pandemic shifting many workplaces to work from home.

  • Age: People 16-24 years old (14.4%) were the most likely to commute to work by public transportation compared to all other age groups. Those age 25-44 (10.4%) were also more likely to commute by public transportation than county average.      

  • Race and ethnicity: Black/African American (14.2%) and Multiple race (11.5%) workers were more likely to commute to work by public transportation than the King County average. Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander workers (3.5%) were less likely to take public transportation to work than the county average.    

  • Poverty: Commuters with incomes at or above 400% of the federal poverty level (8.1%) were less likely to commute by public transit than the King County average. Those with household incomes less than 400% of the federal poverty level were more likely to commute by public transportation than county average (11.4% - 15.8%).  

  • Disability: Commuters with a disability (12.8%) were more likely to use public transportation to get to work than people without a disability (9.3%).  

  • Region/City/Neighborhood: Seattle residents were much more likely to commute by public transportation (15.6%) than people in other regions of the county.   

Since people 16-24 years old are more likely to use public transportation compared to other age groups, what are the experiences of King County youth with local public transportation? The Healthy King County Coalition Peer Education Program, also known as Youth for Equitable Streets (YES), is a small cohort of students of color who are passionate about serving King County communities with a focus on social justice. They share their perspectives, experiences, and stories to uplift and empower other youth of color.      

Their King County Summer Youth ORCA Pass report includes youth stories, experiences, and perspectives on fare enforcement, fare affordability, and the impact of their own racial and gender identities on accessing local public transportation. The full report is available, here and a video is also available to view here. In response to identified key findings, King County Metro has released a blog outlining the immediate next steps that they are taking to ensure that youth have access to transportation and feel safe and empowered when they ride with King County Metro.  

 

Notes & Sources

Source: American Community Survey (ACS).

To learn more about the American Community Survey and view the data biography, click here.