King County, WA Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- K.C.C. 28.96.010.B.1.a
- Covers
- Transit vehicles, bus shelters, park-and-rides
- Includes
- E-cigarettes and vaping devices
- Penalty
- Up to $1,000 fine, 90 days jail
- Scope
- Countywide Metro property, not city parks
Summary
Smoking, including e-cigarettes, is banned on all King County Metro transit vehicles, bus shelters and transit property: a misdemeanor punishable by up to $1,000 and 90 days in jail.
...a person who commits one of the following acts in, on or in relation to transit property is guilty of a misdemeanor: 1.a. Smoking or carrying a lighted or smoldering pipe, cigar, cigarette or using an electronic smoking devices, while on or in a transit vehicle or while in or at a bus shelter or transit property or properties.
Full Breakdown
King County Code section 28.96.010.B.1.a bans smoking - including lighted pipes, cigars, cigarettes and electronic smoking devices - on any transit vehicle or while in or at a bus shelter or other transit property, defined as any passenger facility, stop, shelter, bus zone or right-of-way the Metro Transit Department owns, leases, holds or uses. Violating it is a misdemeanor under section 28.96.450, carrying up to a $1,000 fine and 90 days in county jail. This applies countywide wherever Metro operates, not just unincorporated areas; the code's only other 'Smoking' chapter, 12.50, restricts smoking in county workplaces only, not general outdoor public places or parks.
Violations & Fines
Smoking on a bus, at a bus shelter, park-and-ride or other Metro transit property is a misdemeanor: up to a $1,000 fine, 90 days in county jail, or both, under K.C.C. 28.96.450.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does King County ban smoking in parks or on restaurant patios?
Is vaping banned on King County transit property?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in King County
Compare King County to another location·View the Washington public conduct overview
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