King County Metro Transit: Employee Commute Services--Steps for setting up an ORCA Business Choice Account

Steps for setting up an ORCA Business Choice Account

If you currently order monthly passes for your employees - or if you'd like to begin providing passes as a new benefit or offer a pre-tax commuter benefit - you can take the steps below to get your Business Choice account set up for ORCA.

Setting up your ORCA Business Choice account only happens once! After that, all that is required is to login monthly to re-load value onto employee cards. Both Step 1 and Step 2 below must be completed for your account to be activated.

Please allow 45-60 days for initial account set-up. Continue to order passes as you do now until you have received confirmation that your ORCA account is ready to use.

Step 1

Step 2

Open this link to the Business Choice agreement. [.pdf 888kb] (revised 1/12/10) Tab through the agreement and enter your company information as indicated. Then print, sign and mail the agreement via U.S. Postal service to King County Metro at the address on page 8 of the agreement.

Metro's receipt of your signed agreement will place your company in the queue for account approval and activation. Please continue ordering passes in your usual way until you have received notification that your account has been activated.

Step 3

Receive e-mail from Metro with account activation notice and Business Account User Manual [.pdf 2.69mb] (added 11/18/09).

Step 4

Log in to your online business account at www.orcacard.biz [external link] and order your ORCA cards. You will be able to order the cards and load them with monthly passes or other items that you want on those cards. Or you can order just the cards and wait until you have them in hand to go back to your online business account and load the items you need on the cards. (This could be a good option if you are uncertain what employees need.)

Your order will be approved after payment is received by Metro. (Please indicate on your agreement if you will pay by credit card when ordering or by mailing in a company check.)

Step 5

Receive your ORCA cards from Metro with or without added value depending on what you ordered.

Step 6

Each month thereafter, log in to your online business account at www.orcacard.biz [external link] and load cash value or monthly passes on employee cards. Allow 48 hours after Metro receives your payment for loaded items to be activated on the employee ORCA cards. Allow 30 days for ordering new cards.