aerial view of seattle campus the 520 bridge and mountains

6% decrease in single-occupancy commuting rate per campus by 2028

Eighty-one percent of trips to and from UW’s Seattle campus are transit, biking, walking or rideshare trips, or telecommuting; the other 19% are driving alone. Reducing the campus drive-alone rate reduces emissions and other impacts, but also increases accessibility for those moving around the community. Led by Transportation Services and in alignment with State of Washington Commuter Trip Reduction law and the Campus Master Plan, UW will continue to reduce drive-alone commutes.

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Status updates

FY2023 progress

Target actions for FY23

  • Encourage sustainable transportation options
  • Improve active transportation infrastructure and access
  • Promote U-CAR and UW Shuttle service for mid-day travel

Encourage sustainable transportation options

The fully subsidized U-PASS for all employees was approved in the Spring and was effective July 1, 2022. This expansion covers an additional 22,000 employees across all campuses and medical centers, giving them subsidized access to most public transit options in our region. The 2022 campus commute trip reduction survey, published in May 2023, shows that UW reached a 13% drive alone rate, one of the lowest in the nation. 

Transportation Services implemented free transit fares for students and staff 19 years old and younger, in accordance with new state legislation. Students 19 and under had their U-PASS fee refunded or waived starting in Fall and continuing through the year. 
Transportation Services has continued to advocate for increased transit service levels from regional transit providers to provide commuting options for all employees and students 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Improve active transportation infrastructure and access

Transportation Services opened three new bike houses on the Seattle campus, increasing secure bike parking by over 150 spots.

Promote U-CAR and UW Shuttle service for mid-day travel

Transportation Services continues to improve the visibility and marketing of our Shuttles and U-CAR services by marketing these programs on campus in UW newsletters and publications. UW Transportation puts a special emphasis on marketing the Nightride shuttle service at the end of each quarter. This is an especially relevant time to raise awareness of the Nightride service, as students are regularly on campus in later evening hours as they prepare for finals week. 

FY 2022 progress

Target actions for FY22

  • Encouraging sustainable transportation options and telework post COVID-19
  • Evaluate expansion and demand of daily parking options
  • Promote U-CAR and UW Shuttle service for mid-day travel

Encouraging sustainable transportation options and telework post COVID-19

The U-PASS program provides Husky Card holders with unlimited rides on regional transit systems. Most students on the Seattle and Tacoma campuses are automatically part of the program, and Bothell students can opt-in. The student U-PASS was temporarily suspended for the 2020-2021 school year when most classes were remote, but was reinstated for 2021-2022.

In Spring 2022, the UW updated the Transportation Services funding model to move employee transit costs to the central University benefits fund, allowing the institution to provide a fully-subsidized U-PASS for all faculty and staff starting in FY23. This provides easy access to public transportation options for nearly all UW employees. 

UW Transportation Services monitors transit recovery on a monthly basis, reporting to the University Transportation Committee at each meeting. The UW has advocated for increased transit service levels through the East Link and North Link public review processes as a member of the process review board.

Transportation Services also received permits to build three new bike houses on the Seattle campus, expanding the parking and support infrastructure to encourage bike commutes.

Evaluate expansion and demand of daily parking options

New gate arms were installed at the South Campus Garage on the Seattle campus to allow pay-per-use parking implementation in FY23, expanding the number of pay-per-use options, which is a best practice for parking management to reduce single-occupancy vehicle trips and maximizing parking space utilization. 

Transportation Services continues to review parking demand at all three campuses to determine how best to implement daily parking options.

Promote U-CAR and UW Shuttle service for mid-day travel

Transportation Services implemented improved routing of the shuttles to better service UW Medical Center - Montlake patients and employees. They are also reviewing U-CAR key management software vendors for implementation in FY23 to improve the customer experience.

Previous status reports

Target metrics

Guiding principles of this target