Transportation & Parking

Transportation

Transportation Accessibility to the U-District, downtown, and your workplace should be important factors in choosing your neighborhood. Parking on campus is both limited and expensive. Living within biking and walking distance is the healthiest choice, while the inexpensive U-PASS program gives students free bus rides on Metro, Community Transit and Sound Transit buses, free carpool parking, free Night Ride trips, subsidized vanpool fares and discounts at over sixty merchants.

The U-PASS is available to all students for a nominal fee of $37 and is mailed with their registration confirmations each quarter. Follow this link for more information about U-PASS, bike routes, bus routes, carpooling or call (206) 543-0450, or visit a campus Commuter Center. For help with actual bus routes, visit the Metro King Co. Transit Center or call (206) 553-3000 or 1-800-542-7876.

Seattle parking

If you have a car and need to find parking space, check to see if you live in a neighborhood that falls within the boundaries of Residential Parking Zone (and most do!) to apply for a Seattle Parking Permit.

How to Apply for an RPZ Parking Permit:

Before applying for a permit, please call our office at (206) 684-5086 to verify if your address is within an RPZ and/or request an application form.

To obtain an RPZ permit you must provide a completed application form and:

  1. Current (dated within the last 30 days) proof of residency showing your name and address. This can be a bill, bank statement, lease or rental agreement, rent receipt, or any properly dated business type mail other than mail from our office.
  2. A copy of your current Washington State Vehicle Registration. The vehicle must be registered in your name or the same last name as the proof of residency. Titles, temporary registrations and bills of sale are not accepted. Out-of-state registration is accepted only for active duty military personnel providing proof of their status as such, or out-of-state students providing proof of non-resident status.

The current fee (as of January 1, 2005) for the permit can vary up to a maximum of $35 per vehicle depending on what zone you live in (or what part of a zone), and is good for one permit cycle or part thereof (most RPZ permits are on a 2-year cycle, but there are some that operate on a 1-year cycle). We accept cash, checks, money orders, and VISA and Mastercard.

Households within the boundary may purchase one permit for each vehicle they own. One guest permit is also allowed per household. Currently guest permit fees (January 1, 2005) range from $0 to $35. Please call (206) 684-5086 for particulars.

We also issue temporary permits for up to 60 days for construction vehicles, out-of-state vehicles, new vehicles, and student vehicles.

For location and hours with additional information on parking permits and paying parking tickets can be found at by logging onto City of Seattle's Transportation.