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Employee ORCA Card & Ferry Pass Subsidies

Employee ORCA Card Transit Pass

The ORCA Card is a regional, public transit pass which can be used by employees to ride regular Metro, Sound Transit, Pierce Transit, Kitsap Transit, Community Transit, and Everett Transit bus service anytime, anywhere all over King, Snohomish, Pierce, and Kitsap Counties. The pass is available to employees at a subsidized rate and can be used for personal as well as college use.

Public transportation includes: Link Light Rail system, Metro streetcars (the South Lake Union Trolley and the Broadway streetcar), the Sounder Train (Everett to Tacoma), some Amtrak Cascades trains between Seattle and Everett, the King County Water Taxis (West Seattle and Vashon routes) and the Kitsap Transit Foot Ferry (Port Orchard and Annapolis Routes) as well as the Bremerton-Seattle Fast Ferry.

Employee Orca Card

To be eligible for a subsidized ORCA Card, an employee must join the District's Transportation Management Plan (TMP) which offers incentives for using smart transportation methods of commuting. Employees may buy either the ORCA Card or the parking permit, but cannot purchase both.  For first time users, please complete this form also: ORCA Rules of Use.

Employee ORCA CARDs cost $51 per quarter, plus $10 TMP quarterly fee.

How to purchase ORCA Cards—permanent, fulltime or benefits eligible employees

1. Payroll deduction is available to permanent employees with at least 50 percent employment.

  • Complete the ORCA/TMP Payroll Deduction Form. This form can also be used for switching from parking to ORCA, or cancelling altogether.
  • Pick up ORCA Cards from the Safety and Security Office.
  • Annual ORCA cards for FT staff/faculty are renewed on a yearly basis and automatically re–loaded each quarter.  New cards are not needed each quarter.

Summer Quarter Options for full–time faculty: If an employee has payroll deduction and wants to use the ORCA card during the summer months while not teaching, do nothing and the entire summer quarter fee will be deducted from the end–of–year paycheck. If faculty do NOT need to use the card during the summertime, then faculty should cancel the payroll deduction at the end of Spring Quarter. 

2. Quarterly payment is available for part–time, hourly and temporary employees.

Complete the employee transportation Employee Quarterly Transportation Form (PDF), making sure to have your dean/director sign.

  • Submit TMP and Payroll Deduction forms to the Cashier's Office, and pay for the card.
  • Pick up the ORCA Card in the Safety and Security Office.
  • Cards are generally available two weeks prior to the quarter start.
  • No refunds are given for either the ORCA Card or the TMP fee.
  • ORCA Cards may be replaced for $10 if lost or stolen.
  • Report lost card immediately to the Transportation Services Office.
  • Submit an employee ORCA Card Replacement Form to the Security Office.  It is very important to report your card lost or stolen so that we can block its use.

Employee Ferry Reimbursement

Employees who use the Washington State Ferries as walk on passengers, bike riders or carpool passengers may be eligible to receive up to $58 in reimbursement per month. Checks will be sent within two weeks of submission date. To qualify:

  1. Be a permanent employee working at least 50 percent.
  2. Participant in the Transportation Management Plan (TMP)
  3. Did not purchase an ORCA Card or parking permit from South Seattle.
  4. Use the ferry service as part of daily commute.
  5. Submit the following to the Transportation Services Office:
    • Original receipt from ferry pass or vanpool
    • Dated receipt must match the requested month

Note: If you take transit to the ferry terminal using an ORCA Card, please purchase a separate ferry pass rather than loading up the South Seattle issued ORCA Card.

South Seattle College-issued ORCA Cards can be used on ferries operated by King County (West Seattle water taxis) and Kitsap County (Port Orchard and Annapolis and Fast Ferry from Bremerton).

Additional transit information:

King County Metro Blog: Metro Matters

Metro’s social media channels 
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kcmetro
Twitter: @kcmetrobus
Instagram: @kcmetrobus
Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/KCDOTVideo