photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

A Lawrence Transit bus picks up and drops off passengers at Sixth and Michigan streets on Friday, May 22, 2026.

Voters this fall won’t just be asked whether to raise Lawrence’s transit sales tax from 0.2% to 0.3%, but also whether to keep it in place through 2037.

That’s what city staff shared this week about what the sales tax ballot question will ask. As the Journal-World reported, the Lawrence City Commission voted in July to put the question on the November ballot. City leaders had previously discussed the amount of the increase, but not how long it would run for.

The 0.2% sales tax was last approved by voters in 2017, when it passed with about 70% of the vote. Unless voters agree to extend it, the tax will automatically sunset on March 31, 2029.

As the Journal-World has reported, Lawrence Transit relies heavily on the tax to fund its operations, and it’s seeking the increase to 0.3% because of rising costs, an expected decrease in federal funding and the timing of its contract with its service provider. The contract is up for renewal in 2029, and the transit service has said that without a tax increase, it would have to scale back its operations.

If the sales tax were allowed to sunset entirely, city staff said in the most recent update, “Lawrence Transit cannot operate in its current format.”

A “yes” vote on the ballot question would be a vote for raising the tax to 0.3% through March 31, 2037. A “no” vote would be a vote to keep the current 0.2% tax and not extend it.

There’s no option on the ballot that would extend the tax without raising it. But the city would still have time to put another question on the ballot next year, and Transit Director Felice Lavergne has said that if that happened, the city would probably just be asking for the sales tax to continue at its current level.

Lawrence Transit does not currently charge fares for its fixed-route buses, but Lavergne has said that bringing fares back wouldn’t be enough to make the system sustainable. “This system has historically not taken in a high amount of fares,” she told the Journal-World earlier this year.

The deadline to register to vote or update your voter registration information for the Nov. 3 election is Oct. 13, and advance voting for the general election will begin on Oct. 14. Election Day is Nov. 3.