Post navigation

Prev: (12/18/18) | Next: (12/18/18)

Beep beep — There’s a new sound from riders tapping out at Capitol Hill Station

If like CHS, you can’t hear a beep, chirp, bleep, toot toot, or other rhythmic sound sequence without immediately mimicking it like your aunt’s canary, you’re about to get a new song as you enter and exit Capitol Hill Station.

To help clear up confusion when using ORCA fare cards, Sound Transit is changing the way its sensor beep — beep beep:

Link and Sounder fares are based on how far you travel. So we ask you tap your card before boarding the train and again when you get off so we know the correct fare to charge you or your employer that’s paying for your ride. Based on rider feedback like the tweet below, the ORCA readers will now beep twice when you tap off and end your trip. One beep to ride, two beeps to end your ride

We hope this helps end any confusion about whether riders are starting or ending their ride when tapping. Remember, the screen on the ORCA reader will always tell you what is happening. But most of us just tap as we’re walking past the machine. Note: the ORCA readers will still beep twice with a different tone if have insufficient funds in your account or have cancelled your trip by tapping twice at the same station within five minutes.

Sound Transit says you can expect to hear the extra beep starting as soon as Tuesday.

The often inaccurate and lately totally busted arrival screen at Capitol Hill Station is also reportedly back in action though also reportedly still not exactly useful. The escalators and elevators? Hit or miss. But the bliss of having a subway connection between Capitol Hill and points north and south remains mostly worth it. Beep beep.

 

PLEASE HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE!
Subscribe to CHS to help us pay writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for as little as $5 a month.

 

 
Subscribe and support CHS Contributors -- $1/$5/$10 per month

1 Comment
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Uncle Vinny
5 years ago

One if by land, two if by sea?