Departmental Parking Products

Choosing between Validation Coupons and Departmental Commuter Tickets

Validation Coupons are the better method to use when:

• The visitor will be staying less than 4 hours.
• Departmental Commuter Tickets (DCTs) cannot be distributed in advance.

Departmental Commuter Tickets (DCTs) are the better method to use when:

• The department does not want the visitor to pay initially for parking.
• The visitor will be parking in an area outside gatehouse control.
• The visitor will be staying over 4 hours during the day or over 60 minutes after 4 p.m. weekdays or on Saturdays. (In such cases, either payment method costs the same.)
• The visitor will be leaving when gatehouses are closed, i.e., 9 p.m. - 6 a.m. weekdays and noon Saturdays - 6 a.m. Mondays

Bus Tickets

Departments can provide METRO bus tickets (1-zone peak or 2-zone peak) for visitors, guests and UW employees working off-site who come to the Seattle campus for university business. The bus tickets are sold ONLY in booklets of 20. Along with the tickets, you will provide your visitor/guest with a User Information Sheet that gives website information, phone numbers and METRO Trip Planning information.

Departments may purchase as many booklets as needed; however, they are non-refundable.

With over 60 Metro buses serving the University District, it is possible for your visitors/guests to travel directly to campus. Getting here by bus is easy and saves departments and visitors money. Also, see more information on taking the bus to the UW.

To order bus tickets, fill in the Departmental Request for Transportation Products form.

Departmental Commuter Tickets (DCTs)

University departments may order Departmental Commuter Tickets to be used for visitors or guests who are not regular UW employees working on main campus. Also available are Night Departmental Commuter Tickets for visitors who arrive on campus after 4 p. m. weekdays or on Saturday mornings.

Day and Night DCTs are sold in increments of 5 tickets at $15 each for daytime and $6 each for night. Special Departmental Commuter Tickets are more expensive but allow special guests can park anywhere except certain restricted areas, and are sold in booklets of 5. All prices include Washington state sales tax. However, sales tax is not charged when a departmental purchase is charged to an university budget number.

Departmental Commuter Tickets are not valid for parking at athletic events.

To order, download and print the order form, fill in the appropriate blanks, then send it to Commuter Services, Box 351105 or Fax it to (206) 543-2409.

Departmental Commuter Tickets must be picked up from Commuter Services. During normal business hours (not the beginning of a quarter please as these are very busy times), small orders may be processed while you wait if you bring the completed form with you to the Commuter Services office.

Special Departmental Commuter Tickets

Special Departmental Commuter Tickets are a more costly type of parking permit because they are more flexible. With Special DCTs, departments can provide parking to very important departmental visitors for almost any location on campus for the posted time except in:

• wheelchair/disability spaces
• specially designated spaces such as University Vehicle, Physical Plant, Service Vehicle, and Truck-Only spaces
• parking meters

As always, parking in any university lot is provided on a space-available basis.

Special Departmental Commuter Tickets are sold via an order form. Departments send each VIP visitor a ticket and a copy of the User Information Sheet before their visit.

Special Departmental Commuter tickets are not valid for parking at athletic events.

Validation Coupons

Validation Coupons are accepted in all UW Seattle campus lots/garages, except for the Surgery Pavilion Garage.

Validation Coupons may be used in the Triangle Garage, but not in the Surgery Pavilion Garage, by UW Medical Center patients and visitors to patients. Parking validation in the Triangle Garage is handled by UW Medical Center. Questions about the UWMC Parking Validation Program, Triangle Garage operational procedures, or the parking refund process should be directed to the UWMC parking manager 206-598-4151.

On the front of each Validation Coupon (rectangular, peel-and-stick label) is a barcode, the name of the departmental budget being charged, and the date showing how long the sticker is valid. The Validation Coupon program works as follows:

• The visitor purchases a parking permit at a campus gatehouse and leaves it face up on the vehicle’s dashboard. The visitor will pay on entry by cash or Mastercard/Visa..
• Before leaving the department, the visitor is given a Validation Coupon.
• Before leaving campus, the visitor affixes the sticker to the back of the parking permit. [Note: for auditing reasons, a Traffic Guide cannot affix the sticker to the permit.]
• The visitor presents the permit validated with the sticker to a gatehouse Traffic Guide upon exit and receives a refund. [Note: parking validation must be processed the same day that the permit is purchased and when gatehouses are open, i.e., 6 a.m. - 9 p.m. weekdays and 7 a.m. - noon on Saturdays.]
• The department is charged the fee associated with the actual time the visitor was parked on campus.

Departments request Validation Coupons in the same manner in which they order Departmental Commuter Tickets. (See order form.) However, the appropriate budget number is not charged until a parking permit with Validation Coupon is presented for refund at a campus gatehouse. The charge to the departmental budget is only the actual amount of the parking fee (see fee table above). In many situations, the Validation Coupon method is a more cost-effective method for university departments to pay for visitor parking (see “Which parking product to choose?” below).

Validation Coupons must be signed for when picked up from Commuter Services. They cannot be mailed to departments. With the initial order of Validation Coupons, a department receives a User Information Sheet master to copy as needed, additional information on the Validation Coupon Program, and another Order Form. In addition, a sheet containing accounting-related information is mailed to the departmental budget coordinator.

Short Term Special Permits

Visitors who are spending several consecutive days on campus may find Short Term Special Permits a very convenient parking method. This type of permit, available at day and evening parking rates, is frequently issued to conference and workshop participants. Call our Sales and Administration Office product ordering person at 206-221-3701 for details.