PREVIEW: Washington State Ferries charging new fee starting Sunday

| Fauntleroy | Transportation | West Seattle news

(Friday photo of Fauntleroy ferry at sunset, by Joshua Crowgey)

Starting tomorrow (Sunday, March 1st), Washington State Ferries will start charging a new fee on card transactions, as ordered by state legislators. If you haven’t heard about it already, here’s the summary from WSF leader Steve Nevey in the latest weekly newsletter:

Starting in three days on Sunday, March 1, a 3% cost recovery surcharge will be added to all credit and debit card purchases. The Washington State Legislature directed this change (RCW 47.60.860) so the state can recover the cost of processing card payments. The 3% recovery fee applies to all in-person, kiosk and online fare purchases, including single-ride, multi-ride, and ReValue tickets. It also covers no-show fees for vehicle reservations and carpool and vanpool permits. The cost recovery surcharge does not apply to fees for memorial services, annual business accounts or promotional activities like tabletops and film or photo shoots. Customers can avoid the recovery fee by paying with cash or by using a preloaded ORCA card. If a card transaction is refunded, the 3% surcharge will also be refunded. See our ticket information page for a full list of accepted payment options.

One reader told us they thought fees like this couldn’t be charged on debit-card transactions; WSF explains that they aren’t able to process debits, so debit cards are charged as credit cards and will include the fee.

Rhonda February 28, 2026 (5:04 pm)

That’s roughly $200 per year for 5 commuting trips per week. The poor booth workers are now going to have to handle probably an 80 to 90% increase in cash purchases.

k February 28, 2026 (6:46 pm)

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Why would regular riders pay cash every time instead of just pre-loading an Orca card?
- Rhonda February 28, 2026 (7:01 pm)
  
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  ORCA cards are for walk-ons and bicyclists, not drivers.
  - WSB February 28, 2026 (7:05 pm)
    
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    “You can also pay for any of our fares (including vehicles and motorcycles) using funds loaded to an ORCA card’s e-purse.”
    https://wsdot.wa.gov/travel/washington-state-ferries/tickets/passes
  - Paul February 28, 2026 (9:12 pm)
    
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    Wave2Go Cards are for drivers, I have one because I use the ferry 4 times a week for work.
  - Kat February 28, 2026 (10:43 pm)
    
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    Orca can be used for cars!!!!
- Ms. Noem February 28, 2026 (7:07 pm)
  
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  Is there a 3% fee when loading an Orca card?
  - West Seattle Coug February 28, 2026 (10:54 pm)
    
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    If you use the Reload feature at the Ferries passenger booths and pay with credit card then they will charge the fee. If you use the Orca website or other pay locations then you won’t be charged the fee.
  - Mswendybe March 1, 2026 (7:15 am)
    
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    No fee to reload your Orca Card, because Orca is accepted by WSF, but not run by WSF. *Not to say that Orca won’t decide to do this in the future.
- Paul February 28, 2026 (9:11 pm)
  
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  Not an orca card, but a Wave2Go card, I have one of those I use for regular commuting.
- West Seattle Coug February 28, 2026 (10:49 pm)
  
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  You can use the Orca ePurse to pay at the tollbooth for any Wave2Go multi-ride vehicle product…just like a credit card.
IDC9 March 1, 2026 (6:20 pm)

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I feel for the ticket window and tollbooth workers. Their jobs seem destined to become more difficult with this new policy. And the difficulty will only worsen as tourist season approaches.
John Teehan March 1, 2026 (6:58 pm)

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Cash purchases are not that difficult, so get over it!
- Concerned Sally March 2, 2026 (8:12 am)
  
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  No one carries cash anymore. It’s been phased out of almost everything. Even campgrounds are going cashless.

Lucy February 28, 2026 (6:34 pm)

Wow. Way to encourage folks use public transport.

Sarah March 1, 2026 (9:14 am)

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Yes, it’s public transportation, but this isn’t like a bus vs. car decision. Usually ferries are the only option to get to a certain destination. I can’t imagine many people will decide this fee is so offensive they buy a private boat, helicopter, or boat instead of continuing to use the ferry system…

West Seattle Mad Sci Guy February 28, 2026 (6:45 pm)

Oh interesting. I know I can use my ORCA for walk on. Didn’t know I could use my ORCA to pay when driving on (Maybe I cannot… Will look it up)

K March 1, 2026 (4:33 am)

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I have used an Orca card to pay at the ferry as far back as like 2019. It has been a thing for a long time.

West Seattle Mad Sci Guy February 28, 2026 (6:52 pm)

Follow up to my other post. Oh…gosh. My orca card is digital only and in my Google wallet. I did figure out the other week that bus and train services were careful to use the orca card by default over credit cards in your digital wallet. Wonder if the ferry is setup that carefully (for those who don’t know, the orca card in your digital wallet isn’t selectable like choosing which credit card you want to pay with. It’s just in there along side your loyalty cards and you have to trust the system picks ORCA instead of using the selected credit card)

Al February 28, 2026 (8:46 pm)

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If you use your orca card at the tollbooth or turnstile it will only select orca, since wsf doesn’t take tap to pay. The reader only recognizes orca cards. You just need to pit money in your orca purse and use it instead of c.c to avoid the fee.

Odd son February 28, 2026 (7:17 pm)

Pretty soon, everyone will charge a fee for debit or credit while cash isn’t as common or not accepted (like at Taco Time). Makes sense 🤦‍♂️

IDC9 March 1, 2026 (6:18 pm)

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Taco Time doesn’t accept cash? That must be costing them some sales. They might only be losing small sales. But they all add up.

Chelsea February 28, 2026 (7:53 pm)

Can a u pass be used as well?

John February 28, 2026 (8:04 pm)

I had asked Tracy over at the West Seattle Blog the same question as to why they can do this this is what she told me that wsf saidThis is WSF’s explanation: “Yes. We do not have the technology to process debit cards with a PIN, so all debit card transactions are processed as credit cards. I don’t believe they’re excuse that they don’t have the technology to process then pins.This is 2026, if they wanted it they’d get it

Larry February 28, 2026 (8:15 pm)

The cost to run the ferry system is why we have the highest gas price in the nation.

KT March 1, 2026 (4:55 am)

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Agreed. And why do the rest of us have to subsidize the mostly rich people who live on the islands?
- Curt March 1, 2026 (7:20 pm)
  
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  Let’s see you drive four hours round trip for 20 an hour. Most of Whidbey is not rich by any stretch.
Lauren March 1, 2026 (11:56 am)

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I’m no fan of this new policy, but this is just not true. Many factors contribute to our high gas prices including our state’s gas tax, the carbon cap-and-trade program, and refinery constraints. Ferries have nothing to do with it.

onion February 28, 2026 (8:23 pm)

I am an iPhone user. if I understand the current infrastructure, I can use the Orca app on my iPhone to load more money onto my physical Orca card, but not to pay fares. To pay fares, I still have to use the physical Orca card. Is this correct?Note: I use the TransitGo app to pay water taxi and bus fares, and have simply paid WA State Ferry fares with my credit card, so I haven’t used the Orca card in 10 or more years.

West Seattle Coug March 1, 2026 (1:17 pm)

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Not long after the Orcs cards were able to be loaded to a digital wallet (Apple or Google), Ferries implemented the mobile tap feature. This is only for Orca cards -  you still need your physical credit card for that form of payment.WSF is really encouraging folks to move to Orca and ePurse if they don’t want to pay the card fee.

bill February 28, 2026 (8:55 pm)

Looking over the Seattle-Bainbridge fares:

Passenger$11.05Senior$5.05Standard vehicle$19.70

At least the fares are rounded to the nickel. No cents. Be grateful for small things, I guess. But get real. Who carries coins anymore? Round the fares to whole dollars. Is it efficient for WSF to stock huge volumes of quarters and dimes to make change? Which you have to wait for the cashier to fish out, and then you get to carry around? Will WSF stiff you if a terminal runs out of change? Is WSF going to start using 50¢ coins for efficiency? Anyone remember when WSF handed out $2 bills?

Del Newton February 28, 2026 (8:59 pm)

We all should write checks then they have to put it in the system by hand. remember when debit cards 1st came out it was just for convenience and no fees now it cost 3–6 bucks to get your own money ,3% just to use it or get a ass that collects al of your data wherever you go absolutely ridiculous

IDC9 March 1, 2026 (6:10 pm)

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Does WSF even accept checks anymore?

Rob March 1, 2026 (8:05 am)

Will they have cash and coins on hand to provide change if I will start paying with cash?

flimflam March 1, 2026 (11:43 am)

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They’d better.
IDC9 March 1, 2026 (6:12 pm)

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With the penny on its way out and most WSF transactions being via card, I highly doubt change jars will begin showing up at the ticket windows and tollbooths. Maybe at a terminal or two if terminal managers are given the discretion to do it. But not more than that.

Linda Schwerzler March 1, 2026 (9:24 am)

We all need to use cash again. As a small business owner I pay more than 3% on all online purchases. The credit card companies own us.

IDC9 March 1, 2026 (6:16 pm)

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We certainly need to use cash more often than we are, and everyone needs to carry some when they’re out and about. The way things are these days, society would come to a screeching halt if the technology that powers card and payment processing systems ever went down.

Watertowerjim March 1, 2026 (11:35 am)

So, everyone pay with cash? This will be fun – especially for the cashiers not to mention those who miss the ferry because of the slow lines. Arrive early!

Westwood March 1, 2026 (3:03 pm)

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You’ll just help to hasten the adoption of a no cash policy. It’s coming.

Jay March 1, 2026 (11:41 am)

I’m fine with this. This is a logical response to credit card fees. Stores have been taking surcharges on credit card purchases or raising prices to offset credit card fees forever. And if the state charges the same price for cash or credit card, the cash-payers are essentially subsidizing credit-payers.

K March 1, 2026 (2:58 pm)

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Companies will never be able to negotiate lower credit card fees. The only way they will ever get lower is when consumers see just how much that adds up and start using other payment methods.
Concerned Sally March 2, 2026 (8:18 am)

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They set the price. They could easily add the 3% to the fares instead of playing games. Not to mention that the prices are requiring coins to be used, they not even round numbers. Just to make thing even more difficult, people are going to need a nickel or have 95¢ in their pocket all day.

Cheryl Marshall March 1, 2026 (3:06 pm)

So what I’m reading is WSF found a way around a federal law, that debit cards are not to be assessed a cc fee, is to state theyre not setup to charge debit cards? Something doesn’t pass the smell test..

WS Res March 2, 2026 (8:39 am)

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Credit card surcharges are not regulated by federal law, but state law. A case in 2017 invalidated many state laws. They are legal in most states. https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/are-credit-card-surcharges-legal/

West Seattle Lite March 1, 2026 (4:21 pm)

Why can’t WSF process debit cards? Is additional equipment or technology involved? Do they have to go through a different vendor? Not being snarky; I’m genuinely curious what the difference is between processing as debit and credit? I know credit involves fees from CC companies but not sure what debit entails. Just kind of seems like a lame excuse for WSF not to start processing debit.

Mark Schletty March 1, 2026 (6:36 pm)

I sure wont want to be a ferry teller when they start needing lots of cash on hand. Much cash- very little security- many robberies in the making.

Artificial Intellectual March 1, 2026 (8:59 pm)

Can I avoid this fee?Yes. You can avoid the 3% surcharge by:

Paying with cash.
Using a preloaded ORCA card that was not loaded at one of our facilities.

Brian Wiese March 2, 2026 (12:04 pm)

Questions of legality aside, and given the questions and comments here, it seems like WSF has done a very poor job of providing information in rolling this out.