Past Programs

The Seattle Transit Measure has funded several other initiatives in the past under the Transportation Access Program.

ORCA Recovery Cards

The ORCA Recovery Card program began in 2021 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and ended in March 2024. The program was requested from Seattle City Council in November 2020, when they asked SDOT to create a program to support transportation access for essential workers in Seattle.
The ORCA Recovery Card was a temporary, unlimited, and fully-subsidized ORCA card provided to food service and grocery/ convenience store employees who work in Pioneer Square, the Chinatown/International District, Othello, or Rainier Beach.

Read more about the success of the program on the SDOT Blog.

Employers: Did you know you can provide ORCA cards to your employees through an ORCA Business Program? For a complimentary consultation, please contact Commute Seattle by calling (206) 613-3233 or email orca@commuteseattle.com. If you need support in a language other than English, contact the King County Metro Language Equity line at (206) 553-3000.

ORCA Opportunity Youth

Between 2016 and 2022, we funded fully-subsidized ORCA cards for 20,000 Seattle Public School middle and high school students.

The program ended in 2022 when the Washington State Legislature passed Move Ahead Washington, a comprehensive transportation package that allowed local transit agencies to provide free transit to young people ages 18 and younger. This means that the youth who were receiving ORCA cards through ORCA

Opportunity Youth could now ride transit for free thanks to state funding.
Learn more about how to get a free Youth ORCA card.

One-Time Funded ORCA Cards

Partnership with King County Public Health and King County Metro

Provided 50,000 ORCA LIFT cards pre-loaded with $20 provided to King County Metro and King County Public Health for new ORCA LIFT enrollees and individuals renewing their enrollment. Distribution of these cards began in January 2024 and is ongoing.

Partnership with Seattle Parks and Recreation Scholarship Program

Provided 5,000 ORCA cards pre-loaded with $30 to adults accessing the Seattle Parks and Recreation Scholarship Program. Cards will be distributed during the 2025 Summer programming.

Partnership with City of Seattle Partners to supplement Human Service Bus Ticket Program

Many low- and no-income individuals access food banks and public libraries as a primary method for meeting their basic needs and connecting with additional social services. Both libraries and food banks are equipped with paper bus tickets from King County Metro. Because of the high demand, these tickets often run out leaving individuals with limited cost-free transit options. In an effort supplement the paper bus ticket program, we provided the following organizations with pre-loaded ORCA cards to distribute from December – April; when the risk of running out of paper bus tickets is highest.

Food Banks and City of Seattle Connector Program

10 food banks operating in partnership with the City of Seattle Connector Program. Each food bank received:
1,000 ORCA cards pre-loaded with $12
300 ORCA cards pre-loaded with $30

Seattle Public Library

Coordinated through the Central Branch of the Seattle Public Library, these cards were distributed to 18 branches of the Seattle Public Library system. Each branch received various amounts, depending on the need of each branch.

4,000 ORCA cards pre-loaded with $12
150 ORCA cards pre-loaded with $30