The ORCA transit card is adding a transfer element to the system.

The card, used by transit agencies throughout the the four-county region, soon will automatically credits a rider’s first trip when he or she transfers within two hours. With each trip, the correct fare, including any transfer value, is automatically deducted for riders using E-purse.

Riders can also load their ORCA card with a monthly pass that is good for unlimited rides. Transfer policies for ferries remain unchanged with the ORCA system, with no transfers to or from Washington State ferries onto buses or trains.

Riders can get an ORCA card and add value online, by phone, by mail, at a ticket vending machine, or in person at transit agency customer service offices and select retail businesses around the region.

ORCA cards that are revalued in person are available for use immediately. The ORCA system takes about 24 hours to process transactions done online or by phone.

Switching to electronic transfers with the ORCA smart card system will help stretch the public’s transit investments by simplifying and streamlining fare collection and administration. ORCA will replace about 300 various passes, tickets and transfers with a single card that works by simply tapping the ORCA card on a reader device.

Switching to an electronic fare system also means that fare collection and distribution of fare revenue to each agency is done more efficiently and processed faster.

Over the coming months ORCA will replace many of the region’s other transit passes. Riders who purchase their own monthly transit pass online or by mail likely have already been converted to an ORCA card. Riders who purchase passes in person will receive their pass loaded on an ORCA card. Monthly PugetPass cards will not be sold to individuals after Dec. 14.

Riders who get their transit pass from their employers are being converted to ORCA as their employers’ annual contracts come up for renewal. Until then, employer-provided passes that are valid and unexpired will continue to be accepted by participating agencies.

Ticketbooks will continue to be sold by King County Metro Transit and Community Transit in 2010, but these products will no longer have transfer value on other agencies’ buses or trains, and riders who use ticketbooks or tokens are encouraged to switch to ORCA cards before card fees are introduced in Feb. 2010. Vanpool and paratransit customers must check with their agency about use of ORCA for their rides.

ORCA is a smart card-based electronic fare system for public transportation agencies serving King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties.

The seven ORCA partners are Community Transit, Everett Transit, King County Metro Transit, Kitsap Transit, Pierce Transit, Sound Transit and Washington State Ferries. Together, the agencies serve more than half of Washington’s population and carry about 500,000 riders each weekday.

How the system works

Transfers work for all participating regional partners’ bus, train and light rail service, but are not available on Washington State Ferries.

When using a valid pass or E-purse on your ORCA card for bus, train and/or light rail service, your electronic transfer is activated when you tap your card on the ORCA card reader. The transfer is good for two hours after you tap the card.

The ORCA card reader recognizes each leg of your journey within the two hour period and you will not be charged the full fare for each subsequent leg.

The ORCA card will calculate the amount of “electronic transfer value” your trip is worth based on the cost of the first leg of your trip. If you transfer to a service that charges more, you can either use your E-purse to pay the difference or pay cash.

If your ORCA card has an agency-specific pass, you will only be able to transfer within that agency’s services.