Students who utilize the U-PASS will soon be seeing fee hikes in more than just tuition. Last Thursday, the Board of Regents approved the proposal to increase the U-PASS fee by 98 percent, making U-PASS fees climb from $50 to $99 per quarter beginning this summer.

University officials say the increase was necessary to sustain the program.

“[The U-PASS] is not a favor that [King County] Metro is doing for us. Metro keeps track of our users and then comes back to us and basically says, ‘This is what you owe us,’ and we have to pay them,” said Jean-Paul Willynck, UW student regent. “[The U-PASS increase] is not the same as tuition, but either this increase happens or the university stops providing the service; it’s just not sustainable.”

The contract between the UW and King County Metro increased 79 percent between fiscal year 2008 and fiscal year 2010. The contract increase is caused by the increased cost per boarding and a 30 percent increase in number of U-PASS transit riders. King County Metro increased its rates twice since the beginning of 2008 and is planning to increase rates again in January 2010.

The rate increase is changing the way students view the U-PASS. UW research assistant Derek Schmuland, who commutes to the UW from Kirkland, called the rate increase “disconcerting.”

“I definitely got the feeling before that it was such a good deal, that it was an automatic; I’d just use it, especially considering how much I commute,” he said. “But looking at the price going for it, I’ll have to look at it and see if it’s such a bargain.”

Schmuland is also aware of the current financial climate and its effects here at the UW.

With the economy as it is, “everybody is kind of paying the same price,” he said.

The total U-PASS contract cost is funded by the combination of three sources: U-PASS fees, a subsidy from campus parking, and a contribution from the UW administration. Campus parking has decreased, and UW administration has its financial resources stretched thin after a 26 percent budget cut, leaving U-PASS fees to cover a greater share of the burden in order to sustain the program.

“There is no way the subsidy from the central administration in this budget environment or the subsidy from the parking system will grow by 79 percent,” said Josh Kavanagh, director of Transportation Services. “That means U-PASS will have to self-fund a greater portion of the total cost of the program.”

Kavanagh said the funding model that relies on subsidies from parking is unsustainable and that he will be working with groups from across campus during the next year to identify a sustainable model for the U-PASS.

“We all know that it delivers a tremendous value to students,” Kavanagh said. “In addition, the university needs the program to continue to be strong so we can meet our commitments to the city and to our neighbors in terms of mitigating traffic impacts. We’re going to do everything we can to stabilize prices of the U-PASS.”

The U-PASS has served the university since its introduction in 1983. The decrease in single drivers caused by U-PASS users has allowed the university to convert parking lots to new buildings. PACCAR Hall, the future home of the Foster School of Business, is built on the space formerly allocated as parking lot N-4.

Kavanagh said student feedback indicated that students are very appreciative of the effort that went into developing as modest of a price increase as the university could manage.

“A typical student user will end up with $150 more in their pocket per quarter than if they would have tried to do their commute without U-PASS, assuming that they went out and tried to do it in the cheapest possible way,” Kavanagh said.

Schumuland’s opinion coincides with the student feedback Kavanagh received.

“It’s probably still cheaper than buying and maintaining your own car and [paying for] parking,” he said.

Students are automatically charged the $99 U-PASS fee as part of their quarterly tuition. In order to get the $99 back, they can mail in the envelope included with the U-PASS sticker, or if they’ve already applied the sticker to the Husky Card, they can opt out by visiting the Commuter Services Office located on the Ave.

Reach reporter Michael Truong at news@dailyuw.com.