ORCA's big splash

<<Sounds of ORCA card>>

Narrator says:

With six months under its belt in the real world, that is keeping track of fares on buses, trains, and ferries, you could say the ORCA card is performing quite swimmingly.

Since it debuted as part of a limited roll out last April, more than 100,000 ORCA cards are now in circulation accounting for about 8% of the region’s daily transit rides.

You probably know by now, ‘ORCA’ stands for One Regional Card for All, and allows riders to carry one card that’s good for seven different transportation agencies in King, Pierce, Kitsap and Snohomish counties.

The effort to stream-line the electronic fare payment system for seven agencies has been huge, and it aims to replace about 300 various passes, tickets, and transfers.

Joni earl, CEO of sound transit explains.

Sound Transit CEO Joni Earl says:

While ORCA has seen rapid growth since April when we began the phased roll out, the idea of one card for regional travel has been a long time coming. ORCA as we view it, those of us that have been working on this project for a very long time see this as the next generation of the Puget Pass, which we've had in place now for about ten years.

And we believe ORCA will be the preferred way to travel. So it's taken a number of people to get here and a little bit later we're going to recognize all the people. But, whether you ride a bus, a train, or a ferry on a regular basis, the improvements to our services, to customers, this is really a streamline system that we're super excited about and we want your help in getting the word out to everybody in the region.

Narrator says:

The seven agencies involved are Community Transit, Everett Transit, King County Metro Transit, Kitsap Transit, Pierce Transit, Sound Transit and Washington State Ferries.

These agencies combine to provide more than 500,000 rides every day.

The ORCA card will help streamline the process of keeping the region moving, which means more than getting from point ‘a’ to point ‘b’, it means helping to keep business thriving.

Boeing VP of State and Local Government Relations Fred Kiga says:

Our employees work at more than 20 campuses throughout Puget Sound, from Renton to Everett, Bellevue to Auburn, Kent to Frederickson and they live everywhere in between; in communities big and small. We also deal with hundreds of suppliers and they do business with many other companies. So it is no wonder that we strongly support a sound transportation infrastructure one that is efficient, has adequate capacity and is kept in good shape. It is vital not only for Boeing, but for the region's economy.

King County Executive Kurt Triplett says:

Every day these agencies work together to create far-reaching improvements that make it easier for people to travel around to work, to school and in daily life. As just one example, this weekend Metro Transit will roll out revisions to more than 20 bus routes in southeast Seattle and southwest King County to help better serve Sound Transit's Link system. And it's not just projects like light rail integration. We also partner on route operations, scheduling and customer tools like our online regional trip planner. And we're always looking for new and innovative ways to make regional travel more convenient.

Narrator says:

With ORCA, riders have many more convenient options than they have in the past. With its e-purse, the card allows rider to preload fare value onto the card.

They can then check their balance online, as well as reload online, by phone, at a sound transit ticket vending machine, by mail, or in person at a customer service office or retail outlet.

Riders can also take advantage of the ‘Autoload’ feature, which will automatically reload their card monthly from a credit card.

Bayview Limousine’s Geoff Puett says:

When I started riding the train years ago I started with a Puget Pass. And without fail i would forget to buy my new Puget Pass at the beginning of every month and I’d end up paying cash for the first 3-4 days until I’d remember to buy the pass. So it was wasting the money that I could have been using if I had just bought the pass. So I got the ORCA card several months ago.

I use the 'auto-load' feature so that every month it just reloads, I don't have to think about it, I don't have to worry about it. The next time I even have to think about it is when the credit card expires in 2012. It's very convenient, very handy and if I ever lose it I just report it online and it's not going to just disappear like a Puget Pass would have if I were to lose a Puget Pass.

Narrator says:

There is no time like the present to switch to ORCA, the cards are currently free, but will cost five dollars beginning February 1st.

To learn more, visit the website or call 1-888-988-6722 (ORCA).