One of the more seamless aspects on a recent trip to Japan was being able to simply “tap” my iPhone to pay for subway rides in Tokyo. That frictionless transit payment capability, common in many major cities worldwide, isn’t available in Seattle. But that’s about to change.

Seattle’s ORCA transit system is rolling out an upgrade that will let riders pay fares by tapping their credit card or smartphone — no dedicated ORCA card required.

The new “Tap to Pay” feature will let riders across the Seattle region use Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or American Express cards, as well as mobile wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay.

A soft launch is scheduled to begin Feb. 2 on the G Line, a bus rapid transit route, before expanding system-wide later in February — in advance of this summer’s World Cup in Seattle, as well as the debut of the new light rail line across Lake Washington connecting the region’s tech hubs.

The Tap to Pay rollout was formally briefed to the ORCA Joint Board during its meeting this week.

The technical upgrade is aimed at making transit easier for occasional riders, tourists, and anyone who doesn’t already carry an ORCA card — while modernizing fare payment across the region’s patchwork of transit agencies.

ORCA’s operations team worked with German tech company Init to implement Visa’s Mass Transit Transaction (MTT) payment model, which allows ORCA fare readers to function as point-of-sale devices capable of securely processing contactless credit card payments in real time.

During the soft-launch phase, riders who tap a personal credit or debit card will be charged a flat $3 adult fare and won’t be able to transfer to other transit services outside the G Line. Once the feature launches across the full ORCA system, transfers will work the same way they do today for ORCA card users, including the standard two-hour transfer window across most participating agencies, according to ORCA officials.

The system will support one rider per card and adult fares only, meaning reduced-fare programs such as ORCA LIFT, Senior, Disabled, and Youth cards won’t be available through Tap to Pay.

Fare inspectors will be able to validate contactless payments by asking riders to show whatever card they used to pay.

In a statement to GeekWire, ORCA officials emphasized that the new payment option is additive, not a replacement. Riders who receive employer-subsidized ORCA cards or rely on discounted fares are encouraged to continue using traditional ORCA cards. Cash and physical tickets will still be accepted.

Tap to Pay also won’t be available on every service. The feature will not initially work on Washington State Ferries, the Seattle Monorail, Community Transit DART, ZIP, or Pierce Transit Runner, according to board presentation slides.

Some users on Reddit this week complained about needing to remove their physical ORCA card from their wallet to avoid getting a credit card charge when tapping at a reader.

Notably, using an ORCA card inside Apple Wallet is a separate feature and is not part of this launch. ORCA officials said they remain committed to mobile payment options but declined to share additional details or timelines. ORCA launched a Google Wallet feature for Android users in 2024.

• Side note: Apple Wallet has a feature called Express Mode that lets transit riders pay for fares without waking or unlocking their device.
• And for those who want to purchase tickets via an app: Transit GO allows iOS and Android users to pay fares on King Country Metro buses, Sound Transit trains, and other regional transit services using in-app ticketing.

The date is set for a transportation milestone that could impact how thousands of Seattle-area commuters travel between home and work, especially at the region’s major tech hubs.

Sound Transit announced Friday that the “Crosslake Connection” of the Link light rail system will open to the public on March 28.

The route will carry light rail passengers across a floating bridge for the first time, serving as a 7.4-mile extension of the 2 Line and ultimately connecting downtown Seattle to downtown Bellevue and the Redmond Technology station at Microsoft’s headquarters campus.

• Are you a tech worker looking forward to using light rail to commute between Seattle and the Eastside? We’d love to hear from you: tips@geekwire.com

Testing of trains on the bridge, between new stations at Mercer Island and Judkins Park, began in September. A 6.6-mile East Link segment of the 2 Line, including eight stations, opened last April.

The entire Seattle-Eastside line — plagued by planning, construction and cost issues — has taken nearly 18 years to deliver, The Seattle Times noted after a test ride this week.

The region has changed substantially in that time.

The tech boom and subsequent population explosion in Seattle clogged area roadways, turning a roughly 13-mile commute between Seattle and Microsoft HQ into an often time-consuming headache.

Bellevue has also grown, thanks in part to Amazon, as the tech giant has shifted thousands of workers to various buildings in that city. Roughly 50,000 corporate employees work in Seattle.

While Microsoft, Amazon, Expedia and other companies run private buses between offices in Seattle and Eastside cities for their employees, light rail service adds another wrinkle to the commute landscape.

Sound Transit projects that the fully integrated 2 Line will serve about 43,000 to 52,000 daily riders in 2026.

Trains over Lake Washington will operate at speeds of 55 mph, running every 10 minutes from approximately 5 a.m. to 1 a.m., Monday – Saturday and from 6 a.m. to midnight on Sundays.

It’s no small engineering feat to run tracks and get a train to cross a floating bridge. The Seattle Times explained some of the challenges related to fluctuating lake levels and existing bridge infrastructure. This video also breaks down what goes into it: