By Matt the Engineer on July 30, 2009
Seattlest beat me to this, but in summary: you can’t order children ORCA cards online, you have to bring their birth certificate to one of two locations downtown during business hours on the weekday. Score one for bureaucracy.
Posted in En Transit
By Matt the Engineer on June 3, 2009
I have made my wife excited about ORCA by getting her a card and putting a bit of money on it. Instead of having to buy annoying little tickets all the time, she can just swipe her purse by the scanner, and she’s done. They even let her board free once or twice because the scanner was broken. She loves it.
However, her work just gave her a new stack of “Commuter Checks”. These are a benefit from her work to partially subsidize bus travel. But her administrator told her that she can’t use them for ORCA.
Confused, I called King County Metro to get the scoop. Apparently they have no way of keeping people from putting money in their e-purse using the Commuter Checks, then pulling real money back out of their ORCA cards. So in the end, my wife has to go back to the annoying little tickets.
One more thing. They’re planning on getting rid of the annoying little tickets. Asking the KC representative how they’ll deal with Commuter Checks then, he said he doesn’t think they’ve figured that out yet.
Posted in En Transit
By Frank on November 25, 2008
We definitely need better coordination between transit agencies, even beyond implementing ORCA (which will be a huge first step). The goal should be a seamless “user experience,” to borrow a phrase from the software world, including unified fare collection, maps, schedules, etc.
I recall not too long ago walking into the Whole Foods on Denny Way and overhearing two people discussing the Seattle Streetcar. One said to the other, “oh, that’s the new Sound Transit thingy…”
Point being, most people don’t differentiate between agencies, and they shouldn’t be expected to. Agencies should create a high-quality experience across the board, since poor service by one will reflect upon them all.
Posted in En Transit
By Matt the Engineer on July 30, 2008
After work the other day I walked over to the SLU trolley to meet family at the Center for Wooden Boats. If you know how to sail, I highly recommend renting a boat for an hour on a sunny day. The streetcar was just about to leave as I made it to the stop, so I hopped on expecting to pay onboard.
I knew I only had $1 in my wallet, and also knew that they only take credit cards at the kiosk outside the streetcar. However, I have $1.75 tickets in my wallet that I keep for use on the bus. Also I remembered that their website lists a good dozen forms of payment you can use on the streetcar*, so I wasn’t worried.
But… apparently Metro cash tickets aren’t on the list. This means that I owe the streetcar $1.75, and that I will have to start carrying a pocket full of quarters (6 for a round trip) if I ever want to ride it again. Man do I wish they’d start the Orca pass.
* “The following forms of payment are also accepted to ride the Seattle Streetcar; Metro Pass, Puget Pass, Flexpass, GO Pass, U-Pass, Visitor Pass, Regional Reduced Fare Permit (with monthly or annual sticker), and active Metro bus transfer slips.”
Posted in En Transit, gregnickels, The Grand Tour, Train
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