How much is the reduced fare, and how much does a reduced fare ORCA card cost?

The reduced fare is $1.50 per ride, for any time of day, one-zone or two-zone travel. You can pay per ride, or get a monthly pass for $54. The ORCA LIFT card is free once you qualify and it’s valid for 24 months. If it gets lost or damaged, a replacement costs $5.

How do I qualify?

Your income must be below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines (chart below). To show that you are eligible you’ll need to present documentation, such as an award letter for EBT food stamps or SSI, a ProviderOne medical services card, paystubs or tax return. A full list of acceptable documents can be found at www.orcalift.com.

 

When and where can I get an ORCA LIFT card?

You can order one now and it will be mailed to you starting February 1! Visit https://metro.kingcounty.gov/programsprojects/orca-lift/enrollment-locations.html for a full list of enrollment locations, days and times. When you get your card, it won’t have any value on it yet. You can pay for Epurse value or a monthly pass at an ORCA customer service center (King Street Center, 401 S. Jackson), ticket vending machine, or ORCA retailer.

Can I pay the reduced fare with cash?

Nope, you must have an ORCA LIFT card.

Can I use my ORCA LIFT card on Sound Transit?

Link Light Rail is also introducing a $1.50 low-income reduced fare starting March 1, but Sound Transit buses are not. You can still use your card on ST buses and other services that accept ORCA, but you’ll have to pay the full fare – if you are using the monthly pass, you can make up the difference with E-Purse or cash. Kitsap Transit and the King County Water Taxi also have a low income fare.

Do you Qualify for the new ORCA LIFT Reduced Fare of $1.50?

If your annual income is less than listed in the chart below, you do!

More questions?

They may (or may not) be answered here: www.orcalift.com

Join the Transit Riders Delegation. Meet with County Councilmembers to reject fare hikes  and demand affordable transit for all!  SIGN A DELEGATE PLEDGE HERE

Take our Fare Enforcement / Transit Police Watchdog Survey. Have you had bad experiences with fare enforcement or transit police?  We want to hear about them.  Good experiences?  We want to hear about them too.  TAKE THE SURVEY HERE

The following is from TRU’s awesome newsletter, the Transit Reader.  Do you have a question only a bus driver can answer?  Send it to sam@transitriders.org, and maybe it’ll be featured in an upcoming issue!  Also, please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’d like some paper copies of the Transit Reader to hand out to fellow riders on your bus. Email contact@transitriders.org or call 206-651-4282.

By Sam Smith

Hello Metro riders! My name is Sam Smith, and I’ve been a Metro driver since early 2013. I hear all sorts of questions from passengers, friends, and fellow TRU members on a range of topics related to my job. This column is going to be dedicated to answering some of those questions. Anything you want to know – Why do the poles come off the wires so often? Where do you use the bathroom? Where do you pick up the bus? – just ask! Send questions to sam@transitriders.org.

Because this is my first column and I don’t have any questions, I’m going to answer a question that I have heard many variations on:  Why did the driver not stop for me?

Read more

Success! On Monday, November 10, the King County Council responded to pressure from TRU and a score of human service organizations whose members or clients rely on the underfunded Reduced Fare Bus Ticket program for their basic transportation needs.

The council unanimously passed legislation sponsored by Councilmembers Dave Upthegrove and Larry Gossett, increasing funding for this program by around 33% in 2015 and subsequent years. You can read Ordinance 2014-0445 here. Some of this new funding will merely compensate for the planned March 2015 fare increase, but most of it will translate to a real gain in the number of tickets available.

Thanks to everyone who joined in this effort!  Our united voices got the job done.

Seattle Transportation Proposition 1 is passing by a wide margin, with nearly 60% in favor! For the first time in years, Seattle will be able to add significant bus service.  This is a victory, but our work is far from done. After years of increasing ridership and service cuts, not to mention increasing fares, Prop 1 is necessary but not enough. Seattle voters have shown our willingness to swallow more regressive taxes to fund our basic infrastructure. Now it’s time for businesses to contribute to the transit system that gets their workers to work and allows the wheels of commerce to turn.

Please use the form below to email City Councilmembers urging them to pass the progressive transit funding measures proposed earlier this year by Councilmembers Sawant and Licata: an Employee Hours Tax on business and a commercial parking fee increase. This revenue can be used to expand Night Owl Service and make much-needed capital improvements to our transit system.  Feel free to edit and personalize the following letter as you wish:

[emailpetition id=”5″]