Public transportation is getting more popular in the Seattle area, but for some who get a discount through their employer there is a hidden cost: loss of privacy. 250,000 people now carry the Orca card, a pre-paid public transit card good on all regional buses, light rail and even ferries. If you sign up for the card through your employer you can save close to $1,000 a year.  Some of the area’s biggest employers are offering the cards as a perk; Boeing, Microsoft and the City of Seattle to name a few.

But riders may want to think twice before using them because every time they are swiped the day, time and location is stored in a central data base. And that information is accessible to your boss. So if someone calls in sick and your supervisor questions it, he can look up your transit records for the day.

The City of Seattle warns employees who are registering for the card that the information gathered from it can be used to discipline them. Transportation officials say the Orca card is like a computer issued to you by your company. It’s in your possession but they own it and can track if it’s being abused. City employees say that’s a bad comparison. They prefer to think of the card as like a health care plan. It’s a benefit offered to the employee which is not tracked. Could you imagine if your boss could see all your health records with a click of the mouse?

The American Civil Liberties Union is concerned about big brother taking a ride on public transportation. It supports a law that prohibit companies from accessing the card’s information unless it has evidence of fraud.

Transit officials say by gathering the information they can offer a better product. They use the data to adjust bus routes, ferry schedules and train capacities. The question riders have to ask themselves, is it worth the privacy loss?