County Council seeks to expand ORCA card system

March 26, 2012

Summary

Future report will identify opportunities for increasing transit access

Story

The Metropolitan King County Council today gave its unanimous approval to a motion calling for increasing access to regional transit through expansion of the One Regional Card for All (ORCA) card system. The motion calls for an analysis of options that will lead to wider distribution and increased use of the regional pay system.

“ORCA cards have proven to be a fast and easy way to for local riders to pay for their transit fares,” said Council Vice Chair Jane Hague, who sponsored the initial creation of the ORCA card. “However, we need to find a way to expand access to these cards. Studies have shown that if you make paying for transit easy, more riders will use it.”

“ORCA cards help make riding transit more convenient for people, so now Metro must strive to make ORCA cards more convenient to obtain,” said Councilmember Larry Phillips, Chair of the Transportation, Economy, and Environment Committee. “It’s especially important to make it easier for seniors and low income users to access ORCA cards.”

ORCA, officially launched in 2009, is a smart-card that works similar to cash but with the added convenience of automatically tracking the value of different fares and transfers. Passengers simply “tap” their ORCA Card on card readers to pay their fare. ORCA is accepted by major local transit agencies including King County Metro, Pierce County Transit, Snohomish County Community Transit, and Sound Transit as well as Washington State Ferries.

Before the implementation of the ORCA pass, King County sold transit fare in a variety of local private retails stores. With the implementation of ORCA, this network was limited to direct distribution facilities and the internet. Metro has received complaints regarding this reduction and studies have shown that paying for transit is one of the leading barriers to increasing ridership.

Along with exploring the options to increase use of the ORCA card, the report will also examine potential new ways to pay fares through secure payment such as mobile phone apps.

The adopted motion sets an April 19, 2012 deadline for transmittal of the report to the Council.