12 Replies to “ORCA Survey”

  1. “Why ST would associate their brand with ORCA any more than necessary by hosting this, I don’t understand.”

    There are also links to the survey on orcacard.com and metro.kingcounty.gov. But in any case, isn’t Sound Transit administering the program?

  4. On the survey, I reported that ORCA has been amazing (except for the time that I couldn’t tap out at Mukilteo because the readers weren’t working, and I got charged $4.75). I did mention that with the phasing out of paper transfers they need more customer service stations (or at least add ORCA capabilities to current customer service centers – *cough* WESTLAKE *cough*).

    1. At least with Westlake, there are something like six TVM machines to use for adding value or buying an ORCA card. So unless you need a youth or reduced fare permit…

      1. Do those TVM’s spit out the real plastic cards, or just paper tickets? Couldn’t find that on their website.

      3. And I did this weekend at the ID station. I got a $10 card for out-of-town guests and another for my roommate who’s coming back in December. It didn’t charge me the $5 fee that’s eventually going to be put on new ORCA cards. The TVM performed flawlessly, although you have to press the mysterious “ORCA Options” button at the bottom of the screen to buy a new card. I did actually have an out-of-town guest arriving by train from Vancouver, so I let him activate the cards as we sightsaw.

        BTW, the HI hostel is now two blocks from the train station. A great location for guests, with Chinatown right there, and easy access to Link, the airport, the U-district buses, and Amtrak. The only thing missing is Greyhound.

  5. All of the regional agencies participate in ORCA but thier level of involvement is based on their size. They are all offering the survey as well. I would encourage anyone who is using ORCA to report the good, the bad and the ugly. It is a good way to allow the agencies to take valid feedback to the manufacturer of the system and make it better for the customer.

  6. I would love to see this blog make a faq for Orca, I think you guys could do a much better job explaining the oddball items…

    1. You should consider that. Create an ORCA faq blog and provide links to each agency website and provide customer service center information. FYI, the customer service aspect of ORCA is a shared responsibility of all the agencies involved. You might get ST on the phone one time and CT on the phone the next. It is a shared burden tied together with an iron clad website management contract with an Austrailian company… Brutal, yes. Imperfect? Certainly. Steadily improving by leaps and bounds thanks to the thousands of users shaking down the program daily? Priceless!

  7. Consider something else: Thirteen years ago Sound Transit promised the people of this region a fare system in the hands of an integrated transit agency- not seven separate non-communicating agencies locked into “an iron clad website management contract with an Australian company.”

    Whatever legitimate excuses the system may have over engineering and financial difficulties, the inability to pull the outfit together as unit- one hundred percent the fault of the pertinent elected officials- could be legally actionable as a violation of ballot language.

    It’s certainly and deservedly politically actionable, so if readers have any incumbent ST board members they like, might be good to send them anything they need to get this business straightened out. Remember what the snow response did to Greg Nickels…..

    Mark Dublin

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