U-Pass, free transit rides, guaranteed ride home

Description

King County Metro Transit and the University of Washington developed a U-Pass transit fare program in 1991, the first university transportation management program in the United States. This voluntary U-Pass was developed for both students and faculty and staff. The U-Pass provides:

full fare coverage for Metro Transit, Community Transit and Sound Transit buses from King, Snohomish and Pierce counties that serve the university district;
full fare coverage on the Sounder commuter train service;
discounted parking when carpooling;
free rides on the Night Ride Shuttle;
subsidized vanpool fares;
discounts at businesses;
emergency rides home; and
discounted occasional parking.

U-Pass is optional but the fare and services compare favourably to a regularly priced monthly transit pass and to university parking (when the U-Pass was launched, university parking rates were significantly raised at the same to as a disincentive to driving alone). With this system of incentives and disincentives, the participation rate in the U-Pass program is very high, as is use of alternative modes for travel to the university.

Participants

In the 2000-2001 academic term, the U-Pass participation rate was 83% for students and 60% for faculty and staff. 2003 campus traffic count: 7,010 for trips to campus between 7-9 AM; 9,290 trips from campus between 3-6 pm; and 63,370 trips in a 24-hour period.

SOV Impact

Reported

Weighted average mode share for SOV commute trips to and from campus decreased from 33% in 1989 to 24% in 2002.

Transit Impact

Reported

Weighted average mode share for public transit commute trips to and from campus increased from 21% in 1989 to 36% in 2002.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Impact

Estimated

The potential GHG emissions reduction would be 27%

Assumptions

Traffic growth was not considered

Other Impacts & Co-Benefit

Reported

Although the total population of faculty, staff and students grew by 22% between 1989 and 2003, University related peak hour traffic levels remain below 1990 levels. Almost 75% of students, faculty and staff at the University of Washington took the bus, cycled, carpooled or walked campus in 2001. From 1989 to 2002, the weighted average mode share for commute trips to and from campus decreased for walk trips from 23% to 22%, decreased for bicycle trips from 8% to 5%, and increased for carpool/vanpool from 10% to 11%. The number of SOV parking permits issued to faculty, staff and students declined by 37% from October 1990 to October 2003.

Reference

University of Washington Transportation Office. 10 Years of U-PASS Transportation Choices - 10 Years of Results. U-Pass Fact Sheet. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Transporation Office, 2001. And the University of Washington Transportation Office. 2003 U-PASS Annual Report. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Transportation Office, 2003.