Oppose the Monorail Fare Increase

The private company Seattle Monorail Services is proposing a fare increase to use the Seattle Center Monorail. Fares would go from $3.50 to $4.00 for adults, $1.75 to $2.00 for youth, and $1.75 to $2.00 for reduced-fare riders. This is substantially higher than what King County Metro charges to ride the bus and Sound Transit charges to ride Link light rail.

The Monorail is not an amusement park ride. It is a vital part of our public transportation system. For people who live in Uptown it is quite often the fastest way to get downtown and thus to the heart of our public transportation system. There are hundreds of people who work inside the Seattle Center as well as a public high school.

Seattle Monorail Services should adjust its fare structure to match King County Metro. Rides on the bus are FREE for youth, $1.00 for reduced fare riders, and $2.75 for adults. Setting the adult fare to a flat $3 would be appropriate as well, given that it costs that much to ride Link and it will probably cost that much to ride a Metro bus soon.

It is also quite reasonable to charge more for those not using an ORCA card. Regular users - especially low income users - would get a standard transit fare while tourists (those more likely to pay with cash or credit card) would pay more.

Standardizing fares to the level of a Metro bus would likely cost the privately owned Seattle Monorail Services a little bit of money. It would also cost the City of Seattle some money as well. This could be made up any number of ways. One would be to charge the standard (Metro) fare for the streetcars (instead of the current discount). Others include raising the cost of parking or concession fees inside the Seattle Center. Transit riders should not be asked to pay such a high burden.

The public is invited to comment on the proposed fare increase before a deadline of October 21, 2024 by emailing valancy.blackwell@seattle.gov.