Universal Student U-PASS Advisory Board

Welcome to the Universal Student U-PASS Advisory Board web page.

The Universal Student U-PASS Advisory Board was created and included as a part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) the Associated Students of the University of Washington (ASUW) and Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS) signed with UW Transportation Services and Student Life in 2011 to start the program.

It is the responsibility of the Advisory Board to report and make recommendations to the ASUW Board of Directors and GPSS Executive Committee regarding the program, including but not limited to fee changes and cancellation.

The Advisory Board is subject to the U-PASS’ MOU as well as the committee’s own bylaws. The bylaws govern the conduct of the committee, whereas the MOU acts as the authority by which the committee can operate.

The Advisory Board currently has the following membership:

Chair: Miles Fernandez (ASUW Representative)
Vice Chair: Sean Wilson (ASUW Representative)
ASUW At-Large Members: Evan Smith, Michael Kutz, Steven Do, Erin Oefelein
GPSS At-Large Members: Aaron Lykken, Zach Nostdal, Greg Behrens

The U-PASS has provided affordable mass transit choices to UW students and staff for 20 years, including: bus service in King, Snohomish, and Pierce Counties, access to Sounder commuter rail; Link Light Rail, NightRide shuttle service, and more. As a result of the U-PASS, 79% of commute trips to campus are made without a personal vehicle. A combination of factors led to drastic increases in U-PASS cost, including: rise in fare rates for mass transit; increase in trips taken by U-PASS holders; and higher local parking taxes. In response to this pressure, the U-PASS cost was increased from $49 a quarter to $99 a quarter in 2009.

In response to pressure on the U-PASS, the ASUW Board of Directors created the Student Transportation Taskforce (STT) to explore possible solutions. The taskforce created a survey to solicit feedback from UW students, staff, and faculty on three proposed solutions: maintaining the current funding model; a Universal Transportation Fee; a Universal U-PASS. To gather campus opinion, STT conducted an extensive survey of UW students, employees, and faculty; resulting in 6,725 student responses (3,573 Undergraduates, 3,086 Graduate students, and 66 non-matriculated students).
Survey Results:
-11% of students supported the current funding model
-55% of students supported the Universal Fee model
-79% of students supported the Universal U-PASS
-See a copy of the STT Report

During the 2010-11 academic year, both GPSS and ASUW passed resolutions in support of a Universal Student U-PASS. Subsequently, representatives of GPSS, ASUW, UW Student Life, and UW Transportation Services signed an agreement to implement a Universal Student U-PASS. Terms of the agreement include:
-Price of $76/quarter locked in for two years
-Student control of price increases
-Creation of the Universal Student U-PASS Advisory Board

Contact Us! If you have any comments about the policies and governance of the Universal U-PASS program please contact upassab@uw.edu. If you have any questions about the U-PASS please contact UW Commuter Services at ucommute@uw.edu.

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Please check out all of our documents:

• Upcoming meeting agendas
• Governing documents
• Meeting minutes
• Other documents

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Upcoming meeting agendas

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Governing Documents

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Meeting Minutes

March 5, 2013

February 19, 2013

February 5, 2013

January 22, 2013

January 8, 2013

December 7, 2012

November 9, 2012

October 26, 2012

October 12, 2012

September 11, 2012

August 21, 2012

July 24, 2012

July 10, 2012

June 19, 2012

June 1, 2012

May 18, 2012

May 4, 2012

April 6, 2012

March 2, 2012

February 17, 2012

January 27, 2012

January 6, 2012

November 18, 2011

October 21, 2011

October 7, 2011

September 26, 2011

September 13, 2011

August 24, 2011

August 17, 2011