ORCA card

The ORCA launch press kit gave a launch timeline as follows:[13]

• April 17, 2009 – Press release announcing launch of ORCA.
• April 20, 2009 – Orcacard.com and 1-888-988-ORCA call center launches. Customer Service Offices begin ORCA card distribution.
• May 2009 – Sounder Ticket Vending Machines (TVMs) begin ORCA card distribution. "ORCA is Here" inserts and posters appear in Customer Service Offices and on board buses, trains, and ferries. Switch began of Reduced Fare customers and Business Accounts to ORCA (continued into 2010).
• June 2009 – "ORCA is Here!" radio and print ads and bus billboards appear. Public outreach campaign with blank card distribution.
• July 2009 – Link light rail service begins and Link TVMs begin ORCA card distribution.
• Jan 1, 2010 – Elimination of intersystem paper transfers.[14]
• Fall 2010 – The planned replacement of University of Washington student and employee ID cards with ORCA-integrated photo ID cards was delayed until sometime in 2011. The U-PASS and the King County employee passes were to be dual purpose passes and were to include the ORCA chip.[15]
• May 2013 – 120 retail stores from QFC, Safeway, and Sears begin selling ORCA cards[16]
• 2015 – The regional day pass debuts[17]

A comparison photo of both generations of ORCA card

The ORCA name honors the killer whales indigenous to the Puget Sound. The name was originally suggested by the Sound Transit project manager as in keeping with a theme of successful earlier smart card system names such as Oyster (in London) and Octopus (in Hong Kong), but the name was not accepted by the project joint board until the acronym "One Regional Card for All" was suggested by another Sound Transit staff member.[13]

The ORCA Joint Board approved a capital-and-service contract with INIT in 2018 to design and implement a major overhaul of the ORCA system, including new cards, mobile ticketing, and compatibility with contactless payment credit cards and smartphones.[4] Approximately 2,900 on-board fare validators, 1,000 off-board validators, and 250 vending machines were to be replaced under the contract.[18]

A new website and smartphone app was launched in May 2022 with a weekend-long fare-free period to introduce new validators and card readers.[4][19] Ticket vending machines for Link light rail were also taken offline for three days as part of the transition.[20] The new website and app allowed for fare management without the previous 24-hour delay.[21] The new card readers and validators initially did not display e-purse balances and pass statues until a later update.[22] The machines' noise was also reduced, which drew criticism from passengers and was later corrected.[23]

The new, black-colored cards debuted in October 2022 as part of a retail rollout following a short beta test period.[24] In 2023, a tap-to-pay option through the ORCA app is planned to be deployed.[25]

• Community Transit
• Everett Transit
• King County Metro
• King County Water Taxi
• Kitsap Transit (buses and foot ferries)
• Pierce Transit
• Sound Transit (Link light rail, Sounder commuter rail, and Sound Transit Express buses)
• Seattle Streetcar
• Washington State Ferries (accepts E-purse and agency specific passes, does not accept PugetPass)
• Seattle Center Monorail[30]

ORCA Card Fare Vending Machine

An ORCA card can be used as a stored-value card through a function called the electronic purse (E-purse). The E-purse holds value that can be used like cash to pay fare. The minimum value that can be added to an E-purse is $5. The maximum value that can be stored in an E-purse is $400.[31]

PugetPass is a regional monthly pass that lets passengers travel on nearly every transit service in the region for a calendar month. A PugetPass is valid for payment of trip fares up to the value of the pass. Trip fares above the value of the pass may be paid with E-purse value. (Example: a passenger who has a $2.50 PugetPass and rides a service that costs $3.75 would have $2.50 covered by the PugetPass and $1.25 would be deducted from their E-Purse). Washington State Ferries does not accept the PugetPass. Pass values available range from 50¢ to $5.75.[32] Passes are priced at $36 per $1 of fare value.

This pass costs $8 or $4.50 (senior/disabled and youth only) and cover up to $3.50 or $1.75 (senior/disabled and youth only) of fare value per trip on any transit service that honours the PugetPass within 24 hours of first boarding.[33]

An agency pass covers rides on a specific transit agency's service.[31] Examples include Washington State Ferries' monthly passes, Metro ACCESS paratransit passes, and Metro vanpool passes.[32]

Employers may purchase one of two products for their employees:

The ORCA Business Passport is comprehensive, annual transportation pass program. Employers pay a flat annual cost per employee and each receives an ORCA card that covers almost all transit services in the Puget Sound, including Vanpool. Employers must cover all employees.

The ORCA Business Choice allows businesses to add funds to employee ORCA cards on a monthly basis in the form of an E-voucher. The E-voucher can be used to purchase a monthly PugetPass or E-purse value. Any unused E-voucher amount at the end of the month is removed from the employee ORCA cards and refunded to the business.[34]

Seattle's former Mayor Jenny Durkan proposed free ORCA cards for students enrolled in Seattle Public Schools, it is not clear if current mayor Bruce Harrell supports this proposal. Seattle Public Schools has issued ORCA cards to students previously; the Interagency program provided these to students from low-income families and those who live more than two miles from their school.[35]

ORCA cards allow a two-hour transfer from the time fare is paid. If an E-purse or regional pass was used to pay fare, transfers are allowed on any bus or rail system in the region. If an agency pass was used, transfers are allowed only on services within that agency. Transfers are stored on the card and automatically calculated for the user. Transfers are not given or accepted on Washington State Ferries.[36]

ORCA card users paying with an E-purse can set their zone preference for King County Metro and Sound Transit services. Since July 2018, King County Metro is single-zone only.[37]

Balance protection protects the user from losing any value on the card when it is lost or stolen. A replacement card is issued with its value restored for the cost of a new card if the card is registered.[38]

Since July 2022, ORCA cards allow for a negative balance of up to $2.75 owed to allow users to continue traveling until they can reach a usable vending machine or reloading station.[39]

An Autoload automatically adds transportation products to an ORCA card on a regular basis using a Visa or MasterCard. Examples of autoloads are adding value to an E-purse when its balance falls below a certain amount and recurring purchases of monthly passes.[40]

A myORCA account can be created on the ORCA website to monitor and manage ORCA cards. The account lets the user view transportation products stored on their card (E-purse balance, validity period of passes), transaction history, purchase additional ORCA cards for others, set up an Autoload, set fare presets, and report lost, stolen, or damaged cards.[38]

The ORCA LIFT program discounts fares to $1.00 per ride for users of the ORCA card earning less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level.[41]

As of March 2016, a new ORCA card costs $5, one of the highest prices for a public transportation smart card in the United States.[42] The King County Council has requested a study on the impact of either eliminating the $5 fee or adding $5 in value to all newly purchased cards.[43] The report will be due in February 2017.

The $5 fee was waived for all new cards for a three-month period beginning December 1, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[44] The fee on youth cards was waived through May 2021 and was later permanently eliminated.[45] The card fee was lowered to $3 with the launch of the new ORCA system in May 2022.

The ORCA card, especially subsidized ones, may be used to track users.[46] Information regarding a card user's trips may be released to third parties including employers who subsidize the cards. Other parties may also obtain detailed trip information.[47]