Transportation Services update on product refunds and cancellations

Last updated 9/25/20

UW-Madison administration has approved the restart of parking enforcement and charging for parking to begin September 1, 2020. Parking will remain mostly open through August, with permits required in select locations. Review current employee parking options

All “active”/non-returned 2019-20 permits, passes, and other products will be refunded from March 23- August 31. Products returned by mail have been canceled and will be refunded from March 23–August 31.

Several Transportation Services offices reopened to the public on August 24. Your patience and understanding are greatly appreciated as the refund process begins.

Student purchases

Students received a credit amount to their MyUW Student Center. The credit will first be applied to any outstanding charges, with the remaining credit balance refunded as an eRefund (direct deposit) or check by the UW-Madison Bursar’s Office. Credits were posted starting June 16.

To view your credits and refund amount, please log in to your MyUW Student Center, select the “Financial Account” tile, and navigate to Account Inquiry. Your credits will show as payments. Any transportation-related credit will be noted with a description of “COVID – Parking Refund” even if the amount includes a non-parking permit item.

The time to receive a refund payment once the credit is applied will depend on the type of refund being issued: the Bursar’s Office will process eRefunds each business day, and check refunds once per week.

Contact the Bursar’s Office with questions regarding refunds.

UW and UW affiliate employee purchases

Employees will be refunded depending on how the product was purchased. Refunds will be processed starting in mid-July with an expected completion date between early and late August. Physical check refunds will take the longest to process.

  • Payroll deductions – Deductions were stopped as of March 23. There will be no payroll deductions for the remainder of the 2019-20 parking year (through August 31). Any remaining payroll deduction balance as of March 23 will be reduced to $0. This will be done by UW Transportation Services staff; no action is required on your part.
  • Cash, credit, or check – Due to the large number of refunds, limited staffing, and UW credit card refund restrictions, a refund amount covering March 23 – August 31 will be paid out in the same way you receive your UW-Madison or affiliate paycheck. For most individuals, this will be by direct deposit through UW Business Services. Those who receive their paycheck on the UW Service Center-issued Focus Card (reloadable debit card) will get their refund amount deposited to the card.
    • Record of the refunds can be found in the e-Reimbursement system in “Expense History” (under “Expenses”). The refund is noted as “COVID-19 Transportation Refund.”
    • Those receiving direct deposit refunds will see the fund named differently depending on the banking institution. The associated name will include the word “Travel” due to UW Business Services standards, even though it is not a travel refund. Check the e-Reimbursement system to confirm the amount.

Some groups are unable to be refunded through a direct deposit method, including UW Health employees. These groups will receive a refund check by mail. On August 18 an email and address confirmation survey was sent to those who are receiving a refund check. Those who received this information should confirm their address is correct–if it is not, they must submit the survey with new address information by August 29. Refund checks will be processed and mailed in late September or early October; checks should arrive by mail by early-to-mid October.

Individuals who have left UW or UW affiliate employment since March 23 and who are eligible for a refund will receive a check by mail.

Department purchases

Department limited and service permits and reserved stalls will be refunded depending on method of purchase. Refunds will be processed in early July.

  • Cost Center (TS Number) – Credits will be processed to the TS cost center used for the original purchase. The transactions will be posted in early July 2020.
    • If the funding string for the cost center has been updated since the original purchase took place, the credits will return to the updated funding string and not the original.
    • Customers can process a Non Salary Cost Transfer if the funding is not where they ultimately wish to receive it after the entries are posted early July.
    • Customers can view the transactions after they post to the Shared Financial System in the FP&M Financial Management Portal.
    • Customers can contact FP&M Business Operations and Purchasing (BOP) at fpmbop@fpm.wisc.edu for more information related to the Financial Management Portal.

Vendor purchases

Vendor service permits refunds will be processed as follows:

  • The refund check will be mailed to the group’s financial contact. This is the individual whose information was provided when the order was placed (early summer 2019), unless new contact information was confirmed with Transportation Services. Individuals will be contacted to determine correct mailing address and other details.

Refunds will be processed starting in mid-July with an expected completion date in late summer 2020.

Public purchases

Members of the public who purchased a transportation or parking product will be refunded as follows:

  • Cash, credit, or check purchases – A refund amount covering March 23 – August 31 will be processed as a check through UW-Madison Business Services. The check will be sent to the mailing address on file with Transportation Services, which is the address provided at the time of purchase.

You can confirm and/or make changes to this address by:

  • If you made your purchase online, confirm or make changes in the Transportation Services eBusiness purchasing portal. After logging in to your account, click “Welcome, [Name]” and then “Manage Your Account Information.” From there you can add or edit the address on file.
  • For online or in-person purchases, contact Transportation Services customer service to confirm and/or make changes to your mailing address. Email customerservice@fpm.wisc.edu or call (608) 263-6667.

Refunds will be processed starting in mid-July with an expected completion date in late summer 2020.

Campus is planning for a thoughtful and safe reopening–see smartrestart.wisc.edu for the most up-to-date campus information and related resources. Specific Transportation Services updates are now available in the Smart Restart Hub.