Seattle To Offer 1,500 Free Orca Cards To Low-Income Residents

SEATTLE, WA - Seattle will build on the new ORCA Opportunity program by giving out an additional 1,500 free transit cards to low-income city residents.

Mayor Jenny Durkan announced the effort as part of her 2019 state of the city speech. Durkan said the program would launch in summer in collaboration with the Seattle Housing Authority and King County Metro.

"Transit must be reliable and affordable - because we need transit to meet our climate goals and because it makes people’s lives better. It’s what lets them get to school, training, and jobs. And it helps manage congestion all across our city," Durkan says in her state of the city speech.

The ORCA Opportunity program went into effect in 2018 and provides free annual ORCA cards for Seattle public high school students, some middle school students, and Seattle Promise students.

Like ORCA Opportunity, the transit cards for low-income residents will be paid for out of the Seattle Transportation Benefit District (STBD), which voters approved in 2014. The low-income ORCA cards will initially be a one-year pilot program, according to Durkan's office.

Metro already has the ORCA Lift program, which provides discounted rides for county residents who meet income guidelines. There's also a reduced fare program for people over age 65, the disabled, and Medicare recipients.

Image courtesy King County