Central Puget Sound transit agencies have collaborated in a region-wide fare system since 1991 with the introduction of U-PASS and later FlexPass. In 1996, voters approved Sound Move, which called for an integrated regional fare policy for a "one-ticket ride". That goal led to the creation of the PugetPass in 1999, which allowed transit riders to use a single pass for five transit agencies. On April 29, 2003, an agreement to implement a smart card system between the seven agencies in the Central Puget Sound Regional Fare Coordination Project (Sound Transit, King County Metro, Community Transit, Everett Transit, Pierce Transit, Kitsap Transit, and Washington State Ferries) was signed along with a $43 million contract Between November 9 and December 22, 2006, as many as 6,000 transit riders were asked to participate in a live test of the smart card system. The test was conducted on selected routes of the seven participating agencies. A limited rollout of the ORCA system began on April 20, 2009, which allowed remaining technical issues in the system to be resolved. An extensive rollout and public outreach campaign followed in June 2009. Blank cards were available at no charge during the introductory period, which lasted until March 1; from then on, the card cost $5 ($3 for
reduced fare permit holders). Users of PugetPasses, FlexPasses, and other passes were to be gradually transitioned to ORCA. • 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. • 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. • May 2013 – 120 retail stores from
QFC,
Safeway, and
Sears begin selling ORCA cards • 2015 – The regional day pass debuts • 2019 – 10 year anniversary card released • 2023-2025 – Three designs featuring art by youth artists released, coinciding with the opening of
RapidRide lines
H,
G, and
I.
Branding The ORCA name refers to
orca whales that inhabit 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.
Next generation project 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. Approximately 2,900 on-board fare validators, 1,000 off-board validators, and 250 vending machines were to be replaced under the contract. 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. Ticket vending machines for Link light rail were also taken offline for three days as part of the transition. The new website and app allowed for fare management without the previous 24-hour delay. The new card readers and validators initially did not display e-purse balances and pass statues until a later update. The machines' noise was also reduced, which drew criticism from passengers and was later corrected. The new, black-colored cards debuted in October 2022 as part of a retail rollout following a short beta test period. On June 24, 2024, virtual ORCA cards were made available for
Google Wallet users with full support across the system's member agencies. Additional smartphone and
contactless credit card compatibility had also been announced for 2023, but these features were delayed due to system issues with the user experience and management of employee accounts. In May 2024, an estimated 431,000 ORCA cards were used for at least one trip. A trial of "tap to pay" capability, which supports debit and credit cards with
near-field communication chips as well as mobile wallet platforms, began on the
RapidRide G Line on February 2, 2026. The feature was rolled out to most transit systems within the ORCA network on February 23, with the exception of
Washington State Ferries, the
Seattle Center Monorail, and various
microtransit and
dial-a-ride systems. The switch to allowing other forms of
contactless payment was made as part of preparations for Seattle's matches in the
2026 FIFA World Cup.
Apple Wallet is planned to be implemented at a later date. ==Technology==