Frequently Asked Questions For UPASS Riders

What is the ORCA card?

The ORCA (One Regional Card for All) card is a new transit pass that will be used to pay for bus, train, and ferry transit in the Puget sound region. It will unify the fare systems of Sound Transit, King County Metro, Community Transit, Everett Transit, Pierce Transit, Kitsap Transit and the Washington State Ferries.

What does this mean for UW and UPASS riders?

As described by UW Housing and Food Services, the UPASS sticker that riders currently use will be replaced by the ORCA card. Specifically, the RFID microchip used by the ORCA system will be added to new Husky cards so that students, faculty, and staff can continue to use their UW ID as their transit pass.

Should I be concerned about the new ORCA card replacing my UPASS?

While the new ORCA card will make transit more convenient, it introduces major privacy concerns, especially for UW students. The main issue is that the ORCA system makes an electronic record every time your card is used, tracking the ID of the card along with the time and location of use. For UW students, that card ID is linked back to your actual ID in a UW database. As noted by UW HFS, only UW officials will have access to this database, but how will they use it?

In meetings with UW officials charged with implementing the ORCA card transition, officials described their intention to collect tracking information of card holders for use in fraud detection. Fraud detection was loosely described as improper use of the UW-supplied transit pass, such as loaning the pass to a someone else. UW officials do not yet have answers to questions concerning what tracking information will be collected, how long the data will be kept, or who at UW will have access to the tracking data.

Though the tracking aspect of the ORCA card is major concern, you may also be concerned with the RFID chip introduced in the Husky card by the ORCA system. As we have noted elsewhere, the short read range of the chip combined with on-chip encryption makes RFID tracking by a malicious hacker highly unlikely.

Who should I contact with questions / concerns about the ORCA card?

Contact the Transportation Office - UPASS Program (upass@u.washington.edu).