U-PASS eligibility policy
The University of Washington provides eligible employees a fully-subsidized U-PASS to encourage the use of public transportation. The U-PASS benefit is loaded onto eligible employees’ Husky Card. It has no cash value if it is not used.
The U-PASS benefit is administered for all three campuses by Transportation Services. You can learn more about U-PASS, including its terms of use, at the Transportation Services website.
Employees eligible for subsidized U-PASS
Beginning July 1, 2022, all personnel who are paid by the University of Washington will be eligible for a fully subsidized U-PASS. If you previously were paying for an annual or quarterly U-PASS, you do not have to take any action to stop payments. They will stop automatically with the pay period ending June 30, 2022.
The new 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. 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: Seattle, Bothell or Tacoma. The benefit also doesn’t apply to UW retirees unless they are in a retiree rehire position.
Questions about eligibility can be sent to upasseligibility@uw.edu while other questions about the U-PASS can be sent to commutequestions@uw.edu.
Multiple positions
If an employee holds more than one position and at least one is eligible for a fully subsidized U-PASS, the employee receives the fully subsidized U-PASS benefit.
Leave of absence
Employees who are on a paid or unpaid leave of absence, including summer hiatus or cyclic yearly leave, continue to receive the fully subsidized U-PASS benefit during the duration of their leave of absence.
Job change and ending employment
An employee that moves into a position that is not eligible for a fully-subsidized U-PASS (e.g., unpaid academic, affiliate or other appointees who are not paid by the University of Washington) will have their U-PASS deactivated on the pay date associated with their job change. For a pay period ending on the 15th of the month, the deactivation date would be the 25th of that month. For the pay period ending at the end of a month, the deactivation date would be the 10th of the following month.
An individual who moves from an ineligible position to an eligible one will have their fully subsidized U-PASS activated within 12-24 hours of their first day in their new role.
The fully subsidized U-PASS deactivates on the last day of an individual’s employment at the UW regardless of the reason for ending employment. This includes voluntary and involuntary terminations, layoffs and retirement.
Subsidy loss due to fraudulent use
If an employee receiving a fully-subsidized U-PASS uses it in a fraudulent manner that violates the terms of use as described on the Transportation Services website, and the UW becomes aware of it, the individual loses the U-PASS subsidy. The employee would be responsible for paying both a replacement fee and the ongoing cost of the U-PASS.
Refunds for missed eligibility
If an individual who was eligible for the fully subsidized U-PASS pays for the U-PASS when they were otherwise eligible for the subsidy and the eligibility determination error is the fault of the UW, the UW will refund any U-PASS deductions taken in error as determined by the UW.
Canceling payroll deductions
Individuals who change from positions that are not eligible for a fully subsidized U-PASS into positions that are eligible AND who have been paying for their U-PASS via payroll deduction are responsible for canceling their U-PASS payroll deduction.
Husky Card Replacement
The U-PASS benefit is loaded onto employees’ Husky Cards. When employees use their U-PASS, it is the smart chip inside the Husky Card that interacts with the transit system to provide access. There is no charge for activating or deactivating the U-PASS, but employees may be charged for replacing their Husky Card if it is lost, damaged or needs replacement for any other reason.
Employees with older Husky Cards that do not have the smart chip inside them will also need to get a new Husky Card in order to access the U-PASS benefit. Any employee to whom this applies will be contacted directly by Transportation Services in support of the July 1, 2022 launch of this new benefit.
To get a replacement Husky Card, please contact the Husky Card Services office.