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AN ORDINANCE authorizing the executive to execute an Interlocal Cooperation Agreement for Implementation, Operation and Maintenance of the ORCA system.
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STATEMENT OF FACTS:
1. King County and other governmental entities in the central Puget Sound region provide public transportation services within their service areas and, as part of the services, collect fares from riders.
2. The county has determined that regional fare coordination promotes the use of public transportation throughout the region due to increased ease and convenience for customers.
3. Under the Interlocal Cooperation Act, chapter 39.34 RCW, the county and other providers of public transportation in the region may jointly exercise their powers to better coordinate their respective services and fare payment systems to improve the availability, reliability and convenience of public transportation services within their service areas and throughout the region.
4. Ordinance 14598, adopted on April 7, 2003, authorized the executive to enter into an Interlocal Cooperation Agreement for the Design, Implementation, Operation and Maintenance of the Regional Fare Coordination System with other providers of public transportation in the region. The county and these other providers also entered into a contract with a vendor to design, implement, operate and maintain the current regional fare coordination system that uses smart card technology to establish a common, noncash fare system through their service areas.
5. Ordinance 16415, passed on March 23, 2009, authorized the executive to amend the 2003 interlocal agreement by executing an Amended and Restated Interlocal Cooperation Agreement for the Design, Implementation, Operation and Maintenance of the Regional Fare Coordination System.
6. The current system reaches the end of its useful life in 2021 with the expiration of the vendor contract.
7. The county and other providers of public transportation in the region initiated a “next generation of ORCA” planning effort to ensure that regional fare collection would continue following the expiration of the vendor contract.
8. The next generation of ORCA system will include functions that are substantially different than those in operation today necessitating a new Interlocal Cooperation Agreement between the parties.
9. The purpose of the Interlocal Cooperation Agreement for Implementation, Operation and Maintenance of the ORCA System attached to this ordinance is to express the common interests of the parties to the agreement for the successful implementation and operation of the ORCA system; establish the framework for the Regional ORCA Operations Team, the roles and responsibilities of each partner agency and vendors; establish the process for the allocation of revenue collected by the system and to outline each partner agency's commitment for funding the development, operation and maintenance of the ORCA system.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. The King County executive is hereby authorized to execute,
substantially in the form of Attachment A to this ordinance, an Interlocal Cooperation Agreement for implementation, operation and maintenance of the ORCA system.