Two New Services for ORCA LIFT Tuesday; Other Fare Increases
On the first birthday of the ORCA LIFT (low-income fare) program, this coming Tuesday, March 1, low-income fares will go live on two more services:
($1.50 in-county,
$2.75 inter-county)Sounder commuter rail
($2.50 to $4.25,
based on distance)
.
It took 30 years for Kitsap Transit's low-income fare program, started in 1985, to be adopted elsewhere. Martin proposed the idea of a low-income ORCA card for King County Metro back in 2010. A coalition of transit and social justice advocacy groups, now known as Transit for All, got together and sent a joint letter to the King County Council in late 2012, asking for such a program. The County Council unanimously created the Low Income Fare Options Advisory Committee, which issued its report in June 2013. The council then created the Low Income Fare Implementation Task Force, which issued its report in August 2014. The council formally adopted the low-income fare program in its 2015 budget, and the program was given the name ORCA LIFT.
On March 1 of 2015, the ORCA LIFT card went live, and was honored on six different services:
Kitsap Transit buses and foot ferries ($1)King County Metro buses ($1.50)Seattle Streetcar ($1.50)King County Water Taxi ($3 to West Seattle, going up to $3.50 on March 1; $3.75 to Vashon Island, going up to $4 on March 1)Link Light Rail ($1.50)Thanks largely to the work of the two blue-ribbon panels, ORCA LIFT was done right in several ways:
The card is free. Given the amount of effort it takes to get the card - including making a trip to one of the locations where it is available - there is no incentive to just toss it and get another.The qualification level - being part of a household at or below 200% of the federal poverty level - makes it easy to use other benefit qualifications to verify income.If you get the card at Public Health Seattle & King County, you can sign up for various other public benefits at the same time. This doesn't just save the customer time. It saves staff time and taxpayer money.While getting the card at Public Health, the recipient can also get youth ORCA cards for free for each child 6-18 in the household, if the LIFT card recipient brings along the appropriate documentation. (Neither the LIFT nor youth cards come with free passes or e-purse value.)Unlike with some other public benefits, the customer is not kicked out of the program immediately upon crossing above the 200% poverty line. The ORCA LIFT card is good for two years from the date it is handed out.Inter-agency agreements have made ORCA LIFT a regional program, in which King County and Kitsap County honor each other's low-income ORCA cards.The card looks exactly like a regular ORCA card, protecting the customer's privacy.Each agency adopting a low-income fare has matched it to its youth fare.Getting the low-income fare requires having a pass and/or e-purse loaded on the ORCA LIFT card. This may not seem helpful for the customer, but it makes the program popular with the rest of the ridership, as fewer and fewer riders fumble change at the bus farebox.Loading passes and e-purse on the LIFT card is done just the same way as for other ORCA cards, making it the most convenient low-income fare program in the country..
Due to the adoption of low-income fares on ST Express and Sounder, ORCA LIFT cards will start being made available in Pierce County and Snohomish County in the very near future. However, you don't have to be a resident of King County to get the LIFT card at the locations it is distributed in King County, including the Public Health office next door to the King County Metro office, 201 S Jackson St, just west of King Street Station.
While ST Express and Sounder will start honoring low-income fares on March 1, they will raise other fares. ST Express fares will go up by 25 cents in all categories. Sounder fares will go up by 25 cents for Regional Reduced Fare Permit (RRFP) holders (for seniors 65+ and riders with disabilities) and 50 cents for youth 6-18 and regular-fare riders.
King County Water Taxis will be raising its fares for all categories. The West Seattle route fares will go up 25 cents for RRFP holders and 50 cents for everyone else. The Vashon route fares will go up 25 cents for RRFP holders, 25 cents for youth and LIFT cardholders paying with ORCA product, 50 cents for others paying with ORCA product, and 75 cents for others paying with cash. Children 0-5 will still get to ride free, when accompanied by an adult (four per adult).
Pierce Transit will be raising its discount fares from 75 cents to $1.
Here are the single-ride fares for all services that accept the PugetPass (ORCA's regional monthly pass), as of March 1. New fares are in bold.
| Agency | Service | RRFP.. | Youth | LIFT" | Full Adult |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Community Transit | local bus | $1.00 | $1.50 | n/a | $2.25 |
| Community Transit | commuter south/Everett | $2.00 | $3.00 | n/a | $4.25 |
| Community Transit | commuter north/east | $2.50 | $4.00 | n/a | $5.50 |
| Everett Transit | local bus | $0.25 | $0.75 | n/a | $1.00 |
| Everett Transit | commuter (Route 70) | $1.00 | $1.50 | n/a | $2.25 |
| KC Water Taxis | West Seattle ORCA | $2.25 | $3.50 | $3.50 | $4.50 |
| KC Water Taxis | West Seattle cash | $2.25 | $5.25 | $5.25 | $5.25 |
| KC Water Taxis | Vashon ORCA | $2.75 | $4.00 | $4.00 | $5.25 |
| KC Water Taxis | Vashon cash | $2.75 | $6.25 | $6.25 | $6.25 |
| King County Metro | off-peak | $1.00 | $1.50 | $1.50 | $2.50 |
| King County Metro | 1-zone peak | $1.00 | $1.50 | $1.50 | $2.75 |
| King County Metro | 2-zone peak | $1.00 | $1.50 | $1.50 | $3.25 |
| Kitsap Transit | bus and foot ferry | $1.00 | $1.00 | $1.00 | $2.00 |
| Pierce Transit | bus | $1.00 | $1.00 | n/a | $2.00 |
| Seattle Streetcars | streetcar | $1.00 | $1.50 | $1.50 | $2.25 |
| Sound Transit | Link Light Rail minimum | $1.00 | $1.50 | $1.50 | $2.25 |
| Sound Transit | Link Light Rail maximum | $1.00 | $1.50 | $1.50 | $3.00 |
| Sound Transit | Sounder minimum | $1.50 | $2.50 | $2.50 | $3.25 |
| Sound Transit | Sounder maximum | $2.75 | $4.25 | $4.25 | $5.75 |
| Sound Transit | ST Express intra-county | $1.00 | $1.50 | $1.50 | $2.75 |
| Sound Transit | ST Express inter-county | $1.75 | $2.75 | $2.75 | $3.75 |
| Sound Transit | Tacoma Link | $0.00 | $0.00 | n/a | $0.00 |