Anecdotal evidence: About half the time, when I board Link light rail or a Metro bus using my ORCA pass (a regional pass that works with seven different transit agencies), the reader either: a) Malfunctions (giving a message like "please try again", or b) Isn't working at all (on buses, this is usually accompanied by a an eye-roll from the driver, who says something like, "They don't work when it rains, you know.")

I ride transit a lot, so it's possible this is just a weird me-specific anomaly; however, it's clearly not just that I have a bad card, because a lot of the time the reader isn't working for anyone . (To use an ORCA card, you load it with money or buy a monthly pass and tap it on a special reader inside Metro buses and at all light rail stops.)

I called both Sound Transit and Metro to find out if they're hearing similar complaints from other users.

Metro spokeswoman Rochelle Ogershock said, pretty unequivocally, that she hasn't heard of any problems with the readers or the cards. She chalked the problems up to operator (train/bus driver) or user (me and you) error: "A lot of it is a learning curve—we've seen issues related to people not being familiar with how to use it and drivers getting accustomed to what their role is. Whenever you're phasing in something as complicated as the ORCA card, there's going to be issues with getting used to how it works." She added: "I haven't heard of anything systemic."

Sound Transit spokeswoman Linda Robson said she hadn't heard of any systemic issues either, but acknowledged that "we have seen some spotty problems with the readers" on Metro buses. She attributed most of the problems with card readers to driver error ("There's actually quite a bit that the drivers have to do to interact with the card reader" to make sure it's working, Robson said) and said that drivers are getting additional training on how to properly set the machines. And, she said, it's possible some machines are just buggy. "Every once in a while, you're going to have one particular card reader that is going to be on the fritz."

Is my experience an unusual one? Or are ORCA machines acting up across the regional transit system? If you have experiences—positive or negative—with ORCA, feel free to leave them in the comments. (And call 1-888-988-6722 if you need help with your ORCA card.)