An Idea Whose Time Was a While Ago
Monday, April 20th, 2009Warning: constant() [function.constant]: Couldn't find constant TT_TH8US_LEN in /home/psblogs/public_html/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/tweet-this.php on line 1821
Warning: constant() [function.constant]: Couldn't find constant TT_TH8US_LEN in /home/psblogs/public_html/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/tweet-this.php on line 1821
Warning: constant() [function.constant]: Couldn't find constant TT_TH8US_LEN in /home/psblogs/public_html/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/tweet-this.php on line 1821
Warning: constant() [function.constant]: Couldn't find constant TT_TH8US_LEN in /home/psblogs/public_html/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/tweet-this.php on line 1821
Warning: constant() [function.constant]: Couldn't find constant TT_TH8US_LEN in /home/psblogs/public_html/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/tweet-this.php on line 1821
Transit agencies around Puget Sound, including the state ferries and Kitsap Transit, are finally about to offer riders the opportunity to use a smart card to board buses, trains and boats.
You can now order a new ORCA card; in this case, ORCA stands for “One Regional Card for All.” You’ll be able to use an ORCA card to board buses from the four major transit agencies serving Puget Sound, Sounder commuter trains and the state ferries. The card will take the place of finding correct change.
The ORCA card technology processes and stores information for three different types of transactions:
- You can buy a regional pass like Puget Pass, which applies to more than one transit agency.
- You can buy an agency-specific pass product like a monthly pass for Kitsap Transit or Washington State Ferries.
- Or you can put money in an account they call an E-purse. Then, whenever you use the card, the amount of the fare is deducted from your E-purse, just like the Good To Go transponder account that many motorists use for tolls on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.
Now I may seem like a geek to be so excited about this finally happening, but geez … this was supposed to happen a long time ago. It seems like it has taken forever to do something that should have been relatively simple and should have had the cooperation of all the agencies to make it happen quickly. This collection system will save the transit agencies time and money … if, as have the users of the Narrows Bridge, the cards become commonly used.
And let me say, I ordered a card for myself today, even though I don’t regularly commute either by ferry or by bus. If I was a regular commuter, I’d be first in line for one of these things. This process is simply so much easier both for the passengers and for the transit agencies, it’s almost a crime it’s taken so long to get it up and running.
— Jeff
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Recent Comments