U-PASS Powered By ORCA
U-PASS with Transit Powered by ORCA
U-PASS powered by ORCA became valid for transit fare payment in June 2011 for faculty and staff and September 2011 for students.
Eligible students who pay the universal U-PASS fee need to tap to finalize their U-PASS within 60 days of issuance. Faculty, staff and students who are not eligible for the universal U-PASS fee may elect to purchase U-PASS membership. These U-PASS members will need to tap their card on an ORCA card reader within 60 days of purchase to finalize U-PASS activation. ORCA card readers are available on all buses and in light rail/Sounder stations.
Learn more about activation and other important info by clicking on your campus photo below.
Important information about the U-PASS transition to ORCA-powered transit for each campus
Click on the picture of your campus for campus-specific information including activation dates and Terms of Use.
Harborview*
*Information about the transition at Harborview can be found on the Harborview Parking and Security intranet webpage.
Terms of Use
Part of the transition to the U-PASS with the transit benefit powered by ORCA, U-PASS members are bound by the new U-PASS Terms of Use. The U-PASS Terms of Use are specific to each campus program and can be found on each campus U-PASS Webpage at the links below.
Harborview Terms of Use are available for Harborview on the Harborview Parking and Security intranet webpage.
Eligibility
Information on U-PASS eligibility is available here
New Husky Cards
For the U-PASS to transition to ORCA technology, every U-PASS member’s current Husky Card must be replaced with a new Husky Card that includes smart chip technology. The new Husky Cards sport a bold new look and they require a photo. The magnetic stripe will continue to be used for campus services.
For more information regarding the new Husky Card, please visit the Husky Card website.
Privacy Issues and U-PASS
No personal information will be stored on the smart chip. The chip contains a number with instructions to activate or deactivate U-PASS membership. The University of Washington (UW) sends files which contain these numbers to the region’s ORCA system. No names or UW ID numbers are included in the files. Limited trip data is also stored on the chip for the purpose of processing transit transactions or payment, but it is not associated with names or UW ID numbers.
Commuter Services will be the only office with information about WHO has a valid U-PASS and we will keep this information private in accordance with the UW privacy policy, UW Electronic Information Privacy Policy on Personally Identifiable Information. Commuter Services will not have access to individually identifiable trip data from the ORCA system.
Questions
For immediate questions, email U-PASS. Please enter “ORCA Question” in the subject line.