ORCA Card
Central Puget Sound
Regional Fare Coordination System
(a.k.a. Smart Card Project)

Imagine heading out to work from your home in Kingston to your job in Bothell. Instead of waiting in the passenger line at the ferry terminal, you simply walk by the ORCA FTP (Fare Transaction Processor) on your way to the ferry and board. Since you’ve loaded cash value on your card before your trip, your fare will be automatically deducted from your ORCA smart card.   

Once you arrive in Edmonds, you walk off the ferry and onto your bus, your fare is automatically deducted, you sit down and read the paper. You don’t need exact change or to find that transfer… .your ORCA “smart card” has handled it for you. In fact, you never need to worry about having one-dollar bills, coins, transfers or tickets to pay your fare again. You are part of the future….a “seamless” pre-loaded fare payment system for bus, ferry and rail service throughout the Puget Sound Region using smart card technology.

What the ORCA Card is and how it works:

The ORCA Card is an electronic “smart card” for bus, ferry or commuter train transactions in the Central Puget Sound Region. The name ORCA Card has been adopted for this public transportation product. It is an acronym for “One Regional Card for All.”

ORCA Cardsc are credit card-sized plastic cards containing an imbedded microprocessor chip. The smart card chip stores information about and processes transactions for the kind of pass the rider has purchased and/or the amount of money in the riders’ pre-paid account, known as an “electronic purse.” The fare amount is automatically deducted when the rider runs the card by the smart card FTP reader on the bus, or at stand-alone FTP readers at train stations or ferry terminals.

Unlike magnetic strip cards, like credit cards, the ORCA Card uses contact-free technology that can be “read” without having to make contact or be inserted into a smart card reader (like building access systems that work when the smart card gets within a few inches of the card reader). The result? Convenience, as consumers don’t even have to take the card out of their wallet or purse.

 Convenient payment options:

ORCA Card customers will have the option of purchasing pre-paid cards in various denominations, like phone cards, or purchasing cards they can add value to in a number of ways. Customers can pay for their cards by mail, phone or online through a designated Web site. They will have the option to pay through automatic bank account deductions or through their employers. Customers also can pay for cards in person at participating retail locations, transit agency customer service stores or at vending machines on Sound Transit rail platforms. At the in-person locations, the balance pre-loaded onto the card is available for use immediately. For payments made by mail, phone or online, the card balance is not available for use for a period of up to 24 hours. 

If a rider is currently a pass user, they will not have to wait in line or arrange to get a new pass every month. With automatic bank account deductions, riders can add a pre-set fare amount to their cards at a regularly scheduled date, like direct deposit. They’ll never have to worry about the “re-load” task again. 

Card balances are updated the next time the card is read by an FTP at a stand-along station or on a transit vehicle that has received the transaction information via a wireless network download. This typically occurs when the vehicle returns back to its home base or, for ferries, periodically during the business day.

 Customers also can check their card balances on transit vehicles as they board, at kiosks located in passenger ferry terminals, at transit agency customer service centers or online if the customer registers and links his or her card.

One card for all fares:

ORCA Cards are reusable month after month and year after year – card life expectancy is three to five years with regular use. If registered cards are lost or stolen, they can be immediately deactivated and replaced. Registration of the card is not required, so riders can still enjoy the benefits of an ORCA Card without ever volunteering any personal information.

ORCA Cards will be issued as Adult, Youth or Reduced Fare – the three fare classifications used by all seven ORCA Card affiliated transit agencies. Riders can choose one or both payment options – fixed period pass and electronic purse – as their travel needs dictate. If you are a regular rider you can still buy an ORCA Card in a monthly or yearly pass for a certain denomination.  If you ride infrequently your card can have a pre-set value that is deducted with each ride.

 In the future, old fashioned cash will still be accepted as payment, but all pre-paid fares will be available only with the ORCA Card. 

Why the ORCA Card payment system will be good for riders:
The same card can be used on bus, rail and ferry services throughout the region. Because the card does not have to be run through a reader or flashed to a driver, if most riders use an ORCA Card loading time will be reduced. No exact change will be needed and there is no need to learn the various transit fares. The ORCA Card comes with “transfer memory” so electronic purse riders never have to request a paper transfer – the card knows if you qualify for a free transfer or automatically deducts any upgrade fare owed. Even if you pass the FTP reader twice, the card will only deduct fare once because it knows you have not boarded for two separate rides. Also, the numerous payment options allow greater flexibility for riders to keep their cards ready for use.

Why the ORCA Card will be good for employers and educational institutions that provide commute benefits:

Riders are not the only ones who will benefit from the new ORCA Card system. Employers or institutions that participate in Commute Trip Reduction programs will find greater ability to account for use of those programs in the following ways:

• Accurate trip data for employer budget planning.
• Reduced financial risk via card cancellation controls.
• Reduced administrative support required.
• Web-based program management and reporting.
• More control over benefit amount and restrictions.
• Easier logistics for employers and employees in that ORCA Cards can be distributed just once, then electronically reloaded each month.

Why the ORCA Card will be good for transportation agencies:

The implementation of a smart card system is important to the region’s transportation agencies not only as an improved customer service but also as a way to reduce the cost of collecting fares. The system will reduce the costs associated with handling cash, printing, inventory and distribution of tickets, transfers and passes, and the associated accounting costs.  

Agencies will also be able to rely on the ORCA Card system to accurately allocate revenue from passengers that use more than one transit agency’s services. Daily system activity and productivity reports generated by the system will help agencies plan and monitor services and market them more effectively. It also will be easier to introduce special fare promotions to market new routes or for special event services.

Who is partnering in this project?

Seven public agencies have come together to fund and implement this project: Sound Transit, King County Metro, Community Transit, Everett Transit, Pierce Transit, Kitsap Transit and the Washington State Ferries. Additional funding has been provided through grants from the Federal Transportation Administration, Sound Transit, United States Department of Transportation and transportation mitigation funds from the Boeing Company. Together, the agencies have contracted with ERG, Ltd. System of Perth Australia to develop and install the system and provide financial clearinghouse services for 10 years. ERG has implemented smart card fare payment systems in Hong Kong, Singapore, Rome, Gothenburg, Oslo, Ventura County, and Las Vegas. In addition to Seattle, ERG is currently implementing smart card systems in Sydney, San Francisco, Stockholm and Washington, D.C.

What is the budget?

Participating agencies have budgeted $48 million for all vendor, regional and agency-specific costs to implement the ORCA Card system. Operating costs for the first ten years for the region’s seven agencies are expected to total $33 million in the first ten years 

The ORCA Card and customer privacy:

No personal information will be stored on a rider’s ORCA Card. However, a rider may elect to register his or her card (registration information is stored in the central database only) so that a lost or stolen card can be more easily replaced. The agencies have planned for multiple layers of system security, which include data encryption for all communication systems, the use of Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) for access to customer data and controlled employee access to all data. Additionally, Washington State laws protect a customer’s personal and “travel use data” from public disclosure.