
Welcome to the University of Washington! Whether you take transit from Tukwila, bike from Bothell or drive from Duvall, Transportation Services is here to help with your commute.
Transit & U-PASS
The U-PASS is a bus pass plus more. Loaded right onto the Husky Card, the U-PASS provides members with unlimited rides on regional buses, commuter trains, light rail and water taxis as well as discounts on vanpools, carpools and other special offers.
Beginning July 1, 2022, all personnel who are paid by the University of Washington are eligible for a fully subsidized U-PASS. Employees who do not qualify for the fully subsidized pass may be eligible to purchase a quarterly or annual U-PASS through their campus transportation office.
Your U-PASS will be ready for use within 12 to 24 hours after you become eligible for the fully-subsidized U-PASS or purchase an opt-in U-PASS.
Please see the UW Bothell or UW Tacoma for their separate U-PASS programs. Harborview employees should check their intranet or call 206-744-3254.
Learn more:
- What the U-PASS covers and how to use it
- Emergency ride home
- Transit tips & popular routes
- Troubleshooting & lost cards
Accessibility
Access guide: Information on accessible entrances and facilities for buildings on the University of Washington Seattle campus.
Accessible parking: How and where to park on campus for a day or the whole year.
Dial-A-Ride is a free shuttle service that operates between 125 designated stop locations on the Seattle campus for faculty, staff and students with either permanent or temporary mobility limitations.
Parking
There are a variety of parking products for faculty and staff, including cost-saving options such as Pay-per-use parking or Daily permits.
Most parking products can be purchased online using the Customer Portal. To get started, please log in with your UW NetID. From the dashboard, click “Get Permits” and follow the given prompts to proceed. Detailed instructions for purchasing permits, including product-specific information and step-by-step guides, are located in the Customer Portal guide.
Other commuting resources
Want to get some exercise on your way to work? Check out our walking and biking tips, including where you can find showers on campus.
Thinking about driving? Consider joining a carpool or vanpool to save time and money.
The main Campus Map will help you figure out where you need to go. In addition, there are several transportation-specific maps, including self-serve parking, electric vehicle charging, bike lockers and ride hailing pickup sites.
Health Sciences shuttles
Regularly scheduled shuttle buses provide transportation between the UW Seattle campus and affiliated hospitals and research sites. There are three main routes:
- Health Sciences Express travels between UW Medical Center and Harborview Medical Center with stops at Roosevelt Clinic and UW Tower.
- Fred Hutch/South Lake Union travels between UWMC and South Lake Union via the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center Clinic shuttle travels between the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center Clinic, UW Medical Center and two housing facilities, South Lake Union House and Pete Gross House.
Getting around at night
NightRide Shuttle is a fare-free, safe and easy way for U-PASS members to get home at night. NightRide shuttles pick up passengers at eight convenient campus locations and drop them off anywhere within one of two zones. Service runs Monday through Friday (excluding University holidays and summer quarter) and pickups run from 8 p.m. until just before midnight.
Husky SafeTrip (formerly Husky NightWalk) provides a safe vehicle escort at night with a uniformed security guard for students, faculty and staff. Use Husky SafeTrip to safely get from campus to your home, to your car or to another UW building within a designated service area. Call 206-685-9255 to request an escort.
The UW Medical Center Department of Public Safety provides escorts for hospital employees and volunteers from the UWMC main lobby entrance to university campus parking lots. Service is available Monday through Friday from 4:30 p.m. to 1 a.m, with additional times as available. Call 206-598-5555 to arrange an escort.
SafeZoneis an app that connects your mobile phone to the UW Police Department. It has call buttons for emergency, first aid and non-emergency help and lets users easily share their location with UWPD dispatch.
Other resources:
Frequently asked questions
Parking:
In order to sign into your parking account, you will need an active UW NetID login. If you are an inactive employee, or are waiting for your UW NetID to be activated, you may purchase parking at a pay station in lots E01 or E18.
You may also utilize any of the pay-by-phone (PBP) lots, or purchase parking at a gatehouse (during their hours of operation).
Yes. To register an out of state license plate, please add the vehicle information to your account in the customer portal. Detailed instructions are available at the Customer Portal guide.
Pay-per-use parking (PPUP) permits cannot be purchased on the Customer Portal, but there are a few steps you must first take on the portal before applying for a PPUP permit.
- Log in to the Customer Portal with your UW NetID and go to the "Vehicles" page.
- Add your vehicle information, including make, model and license plate. Detailed instructions for this are available at the Customer Portal guide.
Once you have done this, you are ready to apply for PPUP:
- Email the Transportation Services Sales Office with your PPUP request. Please be sure to include your Employee ID (EID) and home address in the email.
If you are unable to log into the Customer Portal, there are a few alternatives for purchasing parking:
- Use a pay station to purchase a permit in lots E01 or E18.
- Park in one of the pay-by-phone (PBP) lots and follow the pay-by-phone directions.
- Visit a campus gatehouse during their hours of operation and purchase a permit there.
U-PASS:
To access your U-PASS, you must first get a Husky Card. It can be obtained at the Husky Card Office, located on the ground floor of Odegaard Undergraduate Library, near the By George Café, or at one of the following locations:
- UW Medical Center-Montlake, Public Safety Office, Room BB-120
- UW Medical Center-Northwest, Parking Office, Room B-120
- Harborview Medical Center, Photo ID/Parking Office, Room 1 CT 153
- UW Bothell, Welcome Desk in Husky Hall
- UW Tacoma, MAT 253 in the Office of the Registrar
Once you have a Husky Card, your U-PASS will take 12-24 hours to activate on the card.
U-PASS can be used for the following:
- Unlimited rides on King County Metro Transit, Community Transit, Pierce Transit, Kitsap Transit, Everett Transit and Sound Transit, which includes regional buses, Link light rail and Sounder trains
- Full fare coverage on King County Water Taxis and Kitsap Fast Ferries
- Full fare coverage on Seattle Streetcar and Seattle Monorail
- Full fare coverage on regional paratransit services for eligible members
- Full fare coverage on King County Metro’s on-demand ride service Via to Transit
- Full fare coverage on vanpool and vanshare on King County Metro, Community Transit, Pierce Transit, Kitsap Transit, and Island Transit
- Unlimited rides on NightRide, the UW’s evening shuttle service
- Emergency Ride Home
The U-PASS does not cover travel on Washington State Ferries. For more coverage information, see the U-PASS page.
As of July 1, 2022, all personnel paid by the University of Washington are eligible for a fully subsidized U-PASS. This benefit does not apply to student hourly employees, academic student employees, unpaid academics, affiliates, or other appointees who are not paid by the University of Washington. For more information about eligibility, please see the Human Resources website.
Upon eligibility, your U-PASS will be automatically added to your Husky Card and it will be ready for use within 12 to 24 hours.
If you have a current Husky Card, log into MyUW and select "Accounts" from the left side menu. When the U-PASS membership status is set to "current," you are eligible and your U-PASS benefit is activated.
If the U-PASS membership is set to "not current," you may be in an ineligible position OR if you are a new hire, there may be a delay in receiving your information. Please contact your department's HR representative to ensure your appointment or new hire information is accurate in Workday.
No. Your U-PASS will be ready for use within 12 to 24 hours after fully-subsidized U-PASS eligibility or purchase of an opt-in U-PASS.
To use your U-PASS on a transit service, tap it on an ORCA card reader as you enter a bus, or on a reader mounted on a wall or pole at at Link, Sounder or Swift stops.
First, check if your U-PASS is active:
If you have a current Husky Card, log into MyUW and select “Accounts” from the left side menu. When the U-PASS membership status is set to “current,” you are eligible and your U-PASS benefit is activated. If the U-PASS membership is set to “not current,” you may be in an ineligible position OR if you are a new hire, there may be a delay in receiving your information. Please contact your department’s HR representative to ensure your appointment or new hire information is accurate in Workday.
If your U-PASS is active in MyUW but does not work on ORCA card readers:
Make sure you are holding your U-PASS up to the ORCA card reader until you see a green checkmark. The new ORCA card readers installed in 2022 on regional transit agencies require a longer “tap” to read your card information. When tapping your card, make sure you separate your Husky Card from any other cards you may have that include RFID technology, such as an UWMC badge. Check your Husky Card for damage. Scratches, bending, or holes in your Husky Card can damage the RFID chip inside the card and prevent it from working properly.
If your card is still not working, log into your MyUW account with your phone and click on the Accounts tab. You can show that your U-PASS membership is current/active and use it as a “flash pass” for the driver.
For additional U-PASS troubleshooting support:
Please contact commutequestions@uw.edu and provide the following information:
- Your name and UW employee number
- The error message displayed on the ORCA card reader
- Name of the transit agency you were taking
- The route number
- Destination
- The time you boarded the bus or train