King County Metro Transit will be discontinuing the sale of Metro ticketbooks to the general public starting July 1, 2013. Final orders of ticketbooks via online, mail or phone must be received no later than June 25, 2013. No orders received after that date will be fulfilled. You can also purchase ticketbooks in-person at one of our Metro pass sales offices through June 28th or at an existing 3rd party retail location up until June 30, 2013. Ticketbooks do not expire so will continue to remain valid, until used, on King County Metro Transit for their stated fare value. 
Metro hopes to move to ORCA cards and cash as its primary forms of fare payment. Ordering an ORCA card is easy and costs only $5. If you wish to purchase an ORCA card, there are several card options available:
- Adult (ages 19 to 64)
- Youth (ages 6 to 18)
- Senior* (age 65 or older)
- Disabled*
* Senior and Disabled cards require that you meet eligibility criteria. Some regional transit systems accept the ORCA card for paratransit services. Contact your local transit agency for more information.
Once you’ve chosen which ORCA card you need to purchase, there are different places/ways to purchase and add value to it:
- Online: Purchase Adult cards, add value to any card and set up an Autoload.
- Mail: Purchase Adult and Youth cards and add value to any card. Print the mail-in form. Include proof of age for a Youth card.
- ORCA Customer Service Offices: Purchase Adult and Youth ORCA cards, Senior and Disabled ORCA RRFP cards, add value and get questions answered. Note that Senior and Disabled ORCA RRFP cards require that you meet eligibility criteria.
- Retailers: Purchase new Adult cards and add value to any ORCA card.
- Phone: 888-988-6722 / TTY Relay: 711. Purchase new Adult cards, add value to all card types and get personal assistance.
- Ticket Vending Machines: Purchase new Adult cards, add value to all card types and use immediately.
The value, or pass, you purchase will be loaded once the ORCA card has been tapped on an ORCA reader. If you have any questions about the discontinuation of ticketbooks or fares, contact Metro Customer Service at 206-553-3000, customer.comments@kingcounty.gov or via online form.
+1!
Why penalize folks who are helping the system run more smoothly by charging ORCA card users $5.00 to pay the same fair as cash customers? Please either lose the $5.00 charge or charge cash customers more per trip to incentivize them to get an Orca card.