is archive

Week Without Driving 2025, Bigger Than Ever

October 6, 2025More than 500 individuals and 50 elected officials from across Washington State participated in this year’s Week Without Driving challenge which was celebrated by community organizations, transit agencies, transportation departments and public officials across our state. 

How Would You Get Around If You Couldn’t Drive Yourself?

September 16, 2025Washington State, September 29 to October 5, 2025 -- Imagine your life without driving. Could you navigate your daily routines, reach your workplace, doctor's office, or connect with loved ones? This year, community organizations, public officials and transit agencies across Washington State are planning walk/roll events, transit bingo and bus ride-alongs, speaking events, proclamations and even bench installations as part of this year’s celebration of the Week Without Driving. 

DRW is Hiring an Executive Director

June 3, 2025Disability Rights Washington (DRW) is seeking our next Executive Director (ED). With a mission to advance the dignity, equality, and self-determination of people with disabilities, and relying both on lived and learned experience, we work to pursue justice on matters related to human and legal rights. The next ED will build on a legacy of impactful work across the state that has positioned Disability Rights Washington as one of the premier Protection and Advocacy (P&A) agencies in the country. Are you, or someone you know, a demonstrated strategic, visionary leader that might be our next ED? If so, click here to learn more or apply today!

Governor signs law allowing wheelchair users to repair their own mobility devices

May 19, 2025May 19, 2025 – Disability Rights Washington joined Governor Ferguson, Senator Hansen and Representative Gregerson in Olympia today at the

New Bill Gives Transit Agencies Opportunity to Include People Who Rely on Transit to Improve Service

May 12, 2025Today Governor Bob Ferguson signed into law HB 1418 which adds two voting members that are transit users to the governing body of public transportation benefit areas. This law amends Washington state law to allow PTBAs to appoint two voting members to their governing boards, one who is transit-reliant and one from an organization that serves transit-reliant communities.

Victory! Governor Signs Law to Limit Exclusionary Employment Practices with Unnecessary Driver License Requirements

April 22, 2025- Disability Rights Washington joined Governor Ferguson and Senator Stanford in Olympia today at the Bill signing for SB 5501. This bill prohibits an employer from requiring a driver's license as a condition of employment, or including a statement in a job posting that an applicant must have a valid driver's license, unless driving is an essential job function or is related to a legitimate business purpose for the position

Transportation Priorities: 2025 Legislative Session

December 12, 2024Disability Rights Washington is continuing to champion legislation that would add transit rider representation to transit agency boards. Nobody wants transit to succeed more than the people who rely on it day in and day out, but our voices are continually left out of decision-making processes.

We Need a Safe, Accessible and Complete Sidewalk Network

September 18, 2023Just like we can expect our city to build and maintain roads, the same should be true for our sidewalk network. We believe that any time our city repaves a road, the Seattle Department of Transportation should also take action to repair broken and inaccessible sidewalks and install any missing sidewalks along the corridor. 

Week Without Driving 2022 Announced with Proclamation from Governor Inslee and Video Invite from Washington Elected Leaders

August 1, 2022Governor Jay Inslee has issued a proclamation declaring September 19-25 the Week Without Driving. This is the 2nd annual #WeekWithoutDriving, coordinated by the Disability Mobility Initiative at Disability Rights Washington, with support from dozens of co-hosting organizations from across the state. 

First Annual #WeekWithoutDriving Changes the Conversation

November 11, 2021We are thrilled to share that our first Week Without Driving was a great success! More than 100 elected leaders and transportation professionals joined us, and we are loving reading about their experiences and what they’ve learned.

Week Without Driving

October 14, 2021We want to challenge our elected leaders and transportation and transit agency staff to join us and take the #MobilizeWA Week Without Driving, October 22-29, 2021.

Transportation Access for Everyone: Research Paper Release

August 26, 2021At Disability Rights Washington, access to transportation is consistently listed as one of the top concerns for our constituents, and we know that more than a quarter of the people in our state don’t have a driver license. For the last 10 months, the Disability Mobility Initiative has interviewed over 125 disabled nondrivers from every legislative district in our state about our transportation needs.

#MobilizeWA Story Map Earns Statewide Coverage

April 9, 2021Since launching in January, the #MobilizeWA Storymap project has earned media coverage across the state. Disability Mobility Initiative wants to raise awareness about how people without access to cars navigate to essential services in our communities. So far, we’ve interviewed more than 100 people across Washington from every legislative district and documented those stories on our #MobilizeWA transportation storymap.

Pierce County Annex Begins Building Last Piece of Missing Sidewalk

October 8, 2020The Disability Mobility Initiative is celebrating as the City of Tacoma and Pierce County have begun construction on the last piece of missing sidewalk to the Pierce County Annex - Pierce County’s accessible voting center.