23 replies to this topic

[KevinKorell]

Folks this is by no means an announcement of anything coming up. However tentatively we plan to visit the Pacific Northwest during the summer of 2010.

The reason for this post is to encourage you to order the Seattle area's transit card, ORCA. It will save you from having to purchase individual fares on the various modes of transportation in Seattle. You will later need to add some value to the card, and we'll discuss that as the time approaches. But for now, the card is being offered for free until the end of January 2010. From February 1 and onward, it will cost $5. So it is no loss to you to order the card during January, even if you end up not going. Remember each person in your party will need one, if you are a family unit. The online process requires some basic information (name, address, phone, etc.) to register for the card, and once ordered you should have it in about a week.

So if you are even thinking about possibly going to Seattle in July, go to http://www.orcacard.com/ and click on the white dot in the middle of the page (Get ORCA now) to order the card.

[Lightning]

Using the ORCA card will save a lot of time by just tapping the card at the readers, versus paying for individual trips at the pay kiosks. Adding value (called an e-purse) can be done ahead of time. As I related to Kevin, I will reimburse all who have money left over in the e-purse upon departure from Seattle, unless there is a small amount and you want to keep the card as a souvenir. Otherwise I'll give you what's left on the card and use it myself for a later trip. After January 31, it won't make any sense to pay for it, so do get it while it's free.

[AlanB]

For anyone considering getting an ORCA card in advance a few words of caution. First, do not put any value on your card at this time! Any card with value must be tapped within 30 days or you will have to jump through hoops to have the value restored. Second, although I cannot find that page anymore, at one time the site made it quite clear that you could only get the free card if you put money on the card at the time of purchase. Now, I can only find a reference that says retailers will only give you the free card if you put value on it. Retailers seem to include all of the various transit agencies and some other establishments. But it remains unclear if the online ordering system is also considered a retailer. Since I already have an ORCA card, I cannot process an order to see what will happen, but still I urge caution. If you can get a free card without putting value on it, then by all means please do so. But if you have to put value on it, then you will have to deal with the fact that you will have to contact ORCA prior to the trip to Seattle to have that value restored to your card, unless by some chance you plan to visit Seattle within 30 days of buying your card.

[Lightning]

If I recall, when I signed up for my card online, I did not immediately put any money into the e-purse, but did so later when I wanted to try it out. I'll call the customer service number, which all can do on your own, if interested, as it's a toll-free number (unless it is restricted to Washington). The ORCA card is new and, with multiple agencies signing up to accept it, there have been inevitable hiccups. I'll call on Monday to try to get more information on exactly what, if any, funds have to be added, and on what time frame. The past few days have seen massive lines at the customer service locations as people obtain the ORCA. I assume the entire month will be hectic on that front as those who have procrastinated sign up to get the free card before the end of the month..

[KevinKorell]

Mark, I just tried calling the (888) number for Customer Service from home (and knowing it's a holiday and thus a non-business day), and it does not work. Although I get different messages whether I call from a land line phone or a cell phone, bottom line is that the toll free number is not valid from my area code. From what I can gather from the website, as long as you add the funds to your e-purse within 30 days of when it will be needed, there should not be a problem. So please correct me if I'm wrong, but my take on this is that if we're arriving in town on Tuesday, July 20th, then we would have to put the money into the e-purse on or after June 20th, and then it gets activated on the card at the first swipe when we arrive. With that said, I did try navigating around the ORCA site to see how to add funds electronically. However when I clicked on the word "online" under "How to add value", it brings me to the same page I already visited to obtain the registered card in the first place.

Edited by KevinKorell, 01 January 2010 - 02:27 PM.

[AlanB]

Kevin,

I haven't tried putting more value onto my ORCA card obtained this past July via the online system, even though I have registered my card with the online system and can see my transactions. Frankly I don't believe that it's a hard process, but I can't promise that.

I can tell you however that it's not hard at all to add value to your card at a TVM, in fact it's rather easy. The hardest part I found was that initially I couldn't figure out where to put the card to actually update it with the new value.

Perhaps that was because I'm too familiar with the NYC Metrocard method of inserting it in the slot or the Boston method of just tapping your card against the machine. In the case of ORCA, there is a special holder on the front of the machine that you drop the card into and the card then rests at a slight angle from the machine. Once I figured that part out, it was simple from that point on to add value to our cards.

One other thought is that those with disabilities or who are seniors, should first contact King County Metro and fill out the RRFP form to get a discounted ORCA card. I still have to call them up to find out how to get my mom's card converted over from Adult to Senior. We tried to do it in person right before leaving Seattle, but their computer system was down and they couldn't handle the switch.

[AlanB]

Actually I just went to look at my account and the process seems rather easy to add value online. Perhaps your issue is that a card hasn't yet been issued to you? But when I click on add value it brings me to a page where I have 4 choices. I choose the second choice "Add Value to E-purse". That took me to a screen where they asked me how much I wanted to add to my E-purse. You can add any amount between $5 and $300. I didn't proceed further, but I assume that the next screen would then ask me for a credit card number to charge the funds to.

[KevinKorell]

I think it says somewhere that you have to wait 24 hours, so I'll try again tomorrow... or better yet when I physically own the card next week.

[Lightning]

For anyone considering getting an ORCA card in advance a few words of caution.

First, do not put any value on your card at this time! Any card with value must be tapped within 30 days or you will have to jump through hoops to have the value restored.

Second, although I cannot find that page anymore, at one time the site made it quite clear that you could only get the free card if you put money on the card at the time of purchase. Now, I can only find a reference that says retailers will only give you the free card if you put value on it. Retailers seem to include all of the various transit agencies and some other establishments.

If you can get a free card without putting value on it, then by all means please do so. But if you have to put value on it, then you will have to deal with the fact that you will have to contact ORCA prior to the trip to Seattle to have that value restored to your card, unless by some chance you plan to visit Seattle within 30 days of buying your card.

I ride the [morning commute] bus with someone who works at Metro and deals with ORCA. Finally got to ask her about the above this morning. She says that one does NOT need to put money on the card (a process called putting funds into the e-purse) when the card arrives. She said the card would NOT be disqualified or terminated or embargoed if no money is put on it right away. Once money IS applied, it the card needs to be used within 30 days, so by all means send for the card via the website, then, say, just before your departure for the fest, put the amount you estimate you will need. As stated, you need to initiate the process BEFORE February 1, when a $5.00 charge will be assessed and at which point getting ORCA would not make sense.

Also, Kevin said earlier that he did not have any success connecting to the ORCA card customer service 888 number. It could well be that no one at Metro thought "out of the box" and may have assumed that there would not be any calls from out of state or that getting a number with out of state capabilities wouldn't be cost effective. But as Kevin called on a holiday, would one or more of you call (888) 988-6722 during business hours Pacific Time? As the lines have been jammed, you might only get a recording, but as least I would know if you can connect from out of state. Thanks.

[jacorbett70]

I also now have an unregistered ORCA card with no value added yet.