Students returning from summer break got a bit of a shock when they opened up their UW mail before the start of autumn quarter. Included with their Husky Card enrollment and U-PASS stickers was an innocent looking yellow sheet informing students of the new U-PASS fee.

The U-PASS, which was only $50 three months ago, now costs $99 each quarter. This 98-percent increase brings into question whether the U-PASS is worth the additional financial pain. For a majority of UW students, the answer is no.

The U-PASS program was started in 1991 as a way to reduce future campus traffic and parking requirements and provide additional options to commuters. Over the past two decades, it has both achieved and exceeded these goals. According to the 2007 annual U-PASS report, only 23 percent of UW faculty, staff and students drove alone to campus. However, this success is being threatened by the recent increase in fees.

While more expensive than last year, the U-PASS is still a better deal than a standard metro pass for students who regularly commute to campus by bus. A comparable three-month PugetPass, which covers fares for many of the same services as the U-PASS, costs $216.

But the savings are not as clear for students who live close to campus.

A 2008 U-PASS survey by the UW and King County Metro found that 69 percent of students lived within 5 miles of campus, and 26 percent lived within 1 mile. While some of these students likely take the bus to campus, the same survey found that 45 percent of students either walked or biked to school. When you live within 1 mile of your classes, taking the bus simply does not make sense for your daily commute.

For these students, to recoup the cost of their U-PASS, they would need to ride the bus roughly 50 times this quarter. This has increased nearly two-fold from a decade ago when it would have only taken about 25 bus trips to break even. When your prime mode of transportation is the bus, this is not a problem. But, this is less likely for students who regularly walk or bike their way around Seattle.

When living close to campus, taking the bus is usually limited to days of particularly bad weather, shopping outside of the U-District, or simply exploring the greater Seattle area. A $99 U-PASS is a bad deal for these students, especially if they are not planning to do this on a regular basis.

The $49 increase may seem small when compared to the total cost of attending the UW, but it coincides with the $875 tuition hike this year and a likely $1000 increase next year.

When students are already pushing their budgets to the limit, an added burden of even $50 can cause undue financial hardship. It also contributes to the feeling that the state, city and university have decided that students of higher education have not shouldered enough of the hardships of the recession.

UW students led the push to implement the U-PASS program 18 years ago. Now, that same program is being priced out of reach for many of the students who need it the most. While everyone has had to make sacrifices over the past year, UW students are wondering how much more they will have to suffer before it is over.

Reach columnist Mike Noon at opinion@dailyuw.com.