Transportation Services
Employee ORCA Card

Employees

Seattle Community College District offers ALL eligible employees a subsidized bus pass called the transit pass called the ORCA Card. The ORCA card, essentially a regional public transit pass, allows you 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, as often as you want, for no additional charge. You can use the ORCA card to get to school, to go shopping, to run errands, and to other recreational destinations. The ORCA card is also valid on the Link Light Rail System, Metro Streetcars (the South Lake Union Trolley, as well as the future Broadway Streetcar), the Sounder Train to and from Everett and Tacoma, on selected Amtrak Cascades trains between Seattle and Everett, as well as the King County Water Taxis (West Seattle and Vashon routes) and the Kitsap Transit Foot Ferry (Port Orchard and Annapolis Routes).

The ORCA Card is offered to all eligible employees for $45 per quarter. All you have to do is participate in our transportation management plan by paying a nominal TMP fee of $10 each quarter (or essentially $3.33 per month). Then you will pay the ORCA Card fee of only $15 per month! NOTE: The ORCA Card itself is a quarterly (three-month) transit pass.

All Employees must complete this Employee ORCA Rules of Use Form.

Other benefits: All permanent employees, registered in the TMP program as non-driving participants, are eligible for the Punch Card, the Home Free Guarantee, and the Zipcar benefit. The punch card allows an employee to park up to 12 free days on campus each quarter. The Home Free Guarantee offers free ride home to eligible employees in cases of unexpected emergency. The Zipcar benefit provides flexibility by giving eligible employee the option to use a shared car for both personal and business reasons during the workday. Please see respective sections on Punch Card, Home Free Guarantee, and Zipcar under Additional Benefits for more information.

There are two ways for the college employees to obtain an ORCA Card:

Payroll deduction option

Permanent employees of the college, including classified staff, full-time and continuing faculty (at 50.1% of employment or higher), administrators and managers, have the option of paying for the TMP fee through payroll deduction. For transportation purposes, a permanent employee is defined as an employee who is eligible for all fringe benefits, including medical and vacation. Under the payroll deduction option, a portion of the TMP fee (1/6th of the quarterly fee) is deducted each time you get a paycheck, as is the fee for the ORCA Card.

To apply for an ORCA Card under the payroll deduction method, please print and complete the Employee Transportation – ORCA Card Payroll Deduction form. Completed form should be submitted to Deanna Maki (206-934-6932) of Transportation Services Office (room 2BE1143) for approval and ORCA Card. Please note: The ORCA Card is now renewed on a yearly basis, there is no longer a need to pick up the card every quarter, as had been true for the Gopass. The card is automatically re-loaded every quarter, for your convenience.

Quarterly payment option

The quarterly payment option is available to part-time and temporary employees, including hourly staff and part-time faculty. You may obtain an ORCA Card by paying the TMP fee of $10 and the Gopass fee of $45 on a quarterly basis directly at the Campus Cashier, room BE1104K, then bring your receipt to the Transportation Office, BE1143, where we will issue the ORCA Card. NOTE: student employees, including hourly and work-study students, are NOT eligible to participate in the Employee Transportation program.

Please make sure to complete the Employee Transportation – Quarterly Payment form before going to the cashier window. This form requires the approval of your department/division supervisor. NOTE: Under the quarterly payment option, an employee may only purchase a parking permit OR an ORCA Card but not BOTH in the same quarter.

The quarterly employee ORCA Cards are usually available for “purchase” about two weeks prior to the start of the quarter. Please note that we now require the PT staff to turn in their old ORCA Card to the Transportation Office staff before picking up a new one. All eligible employees are encouraged to get their ORCA Card as early as possible to avoid the long wait lines during the first week of the quarter.

Websites For Additional Transportation Information

Emergency/Snow Communications

Web links from King County Metro for snow routes and emergency information:

Refunds Policy

  • NO refunds on ORCA Cards or TMP fee.

Replacement Policy

  • A lost/stolen/misplaced ORCA Card may be replaced by paying a replacement fee of $10. Please report a lost/stolen ORCA Card IMMEDIATELY to the Transortation Office, BE1143. Please also note your ORCA card number at the time you receive it; this will allow us to turn “off” any lost/stolen cards.
  • Please complete and submit to Transportation Services Office an Employee – ORCA Card Replacement Request form