ORCA readers will soon accept tap to pay

Published 1:30 am Friday, February 20, 2026

EVERETT — Transit riders in the Puget Sound region will soon be able to pay for rides with credit cards, debit cards or their cell phones, the organization that operates the region’s transportation payment system announced Thursday.

The One Regional Card for All, known as ORCA, first launched in 2009 as a way to pay for transit fares across agencies throughout multiple counties in western Washington. Starting Monday, riders will be able to forgo acquiring the plastic card used to pay fares and instead use other contactless payment methods to ride buses and trains.

Riders paying with credit or debit cards will still receive the two-hour transfer window ORCA cards currently provide. But the new contactless payments will not work on Washington State Ferries, Community Transit or Everett Transit’s paratransit services, or Community Transit’s Zip microtransit shuttles.

Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.