ORCA Card Moves at the Speed of Public Transit

Friday we got our new ORCA card in the mail and ran straight to the computer to add cash dollars to our account using our ultra-high-tech VISA technology. Saturday we checked the account and saw $0.00. Oh, wait: "Any value purchased in the last 24 hours may not be shown." Really? Is someone doing this by hand back there? As of now (2.5 days later) our transaction is still pending, our ORCA card useless. *sigh* Great idea, though!

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By MvB in Miscellaneous on May 11, 2009 11:30 AM

Comments [rss]

henry

I've been using the ORCA card for about 2 weeks now and so far it's been..okay. The system has been down 3 times, but that's fine because the drivers just sigh and wave you through. The problem is that you can no longer just flash your monthly pass, say if someone is bumbling with change or you get off the back of a crowded bus. So I'm not entirely convinced that this saves more time than the puget passes, as you still have to hold it in front of the reader for a second or two (just as long as a swipe).

But hey, if the auto renew feature works next month, perhaps I'll look on this in a whole new light. I hate paying for these things in cash at Bartell's.

MvB

Okay, I called it and contrary to popular belief, "pending" doesn't mean pending. The money is in my account, I'm told, it's just that my card is pending because it doesn't really activate until I try to use it on a bus. Why someone would try to use a card that shows a $0.00 balance is above my paygrade, but I'll give it a shot and see if it works.