UW paid for 850K bus rides that were never taken
Apr 18, 2012, 4:26 PM | Updated: 5:46 pm
The UW Office of Transportation Services paid for more than 850,000 rides that were never used during the 2011 autumn quarter. (97.3 KIRO FM Photo/File)
(97.3 KIRO FM Photo/File)
The University of Washington drastically overestimated the number of students and faculty who utilize transit services through the U-Pass program.
The Office of Transportation Services paid for more than 850,000 rides that were never used, roughly 25 percent of all rides purchased from agencies such as the King County Metro in the autumn quarter.
“So we’ve contracted for a certain amount of service, and it would appear that some portion of the university population is using less of that service than we expected them to,” said Josh Kavanagh, director of Transportation Services.
Kavanagh said their contracts with agencies such as Metro are based on an estimate of projected ridership.
“We are contracting for a level of service whether or not we use,” he said. “And if we had taken more rides during the contract period we would have gotten a better deal than what we contracted for.”
Despite the gap in projections, Kavanagh said the U-Pass program continues to be a great deal for students, faculty and staff. However, the university will work to determine the source of the gap and examine potential solutions.
