Seattle Center Monorail Fare Increase Proposed
Beginning January 1, 2025, Seattle Center Monorail fares will increase as listed below. The City’s contract with the private operator of the Monorail includes a fare increase schedule to keep up with rising costs and our shared commitment to preserving this historic system.
Passengers purchase monorail tickets online or by using the ticket vending machines located at both Seattle Center and Westlake Monorail Stations. Additionally, since 2019, passengers can use an ORCA card as fare payment on Seattle Center Monorail. Seattle Center Monorail offers a 50% discount on fares for income-eligible residents through the ORCA LIFT Program. Seattle Center Monorail also participates in the ORCA subsidized annual pass program which provides fully subsidized transportation for people who qualify.
One-way fare increase details are as follows:
- Adult fare (ages 19-64), currently $3.50, increases to $4.00
- Youth fare (ages 6-18), currently $1.75, increases to $2.00
- Reduced rate (riders who are 65+, disabled, possess Medicare cards, active-duty U.S. military personnel with ID, ORCA LIFT cards accepted), currently $1.75, increases to $2.00
- Adult monthly pass, non-ORCA, currently $70, increases to $80.00
- Reduced monthly pass, non-ORCA, currently $35, increases to $40.00
Members of the public may comment on the proposed fare increase via email through October 21, 2024: [email protected].
About Seattle Center Monorail
Built for the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair, Seattle Center Monorail travels directly between Seattle Center and Westlake Center (5th Avenue and Pine Street). During normal operating service, the train departs approximately every 10 minutes, and during peak operating service, the trains depart approximately every 5 minutes. Each train can carry up to 250 passengers per trip. The system has undergone significant renovations over the past 15 years to ensure its continued operation well into the 21st century.
Seattle Center Monorail is one of the best modern-day examples of a true public-private partnership. Owned by the City of Seattle and operated by Seattle Monorail Services (SMS), a private company, since 1994. We accomplish something that very few transportation systems in the country have: taxpayers pay none of the Monorail’s operating costs. SMS covers the Monorail’s operating cost through ticket sales, and in fact, returns revenue to the City of Seattle every year through this partnership. The City’s share of the net operating income is used to help underwrite public programming and administrative costs at Seattle Center. Additionally, a portion of Seattle Center Monorail farebox revenue is used to help cover equipment upgrades and construction costs.
About Seattle Center
Connect to the extraordinary at Seattle Center, an active civic, arts, and family gathering place in the core of our city and region. Seattle Center’s 74-acre campus, centered around the International Fountain, is part of the Uptown Arts & Cultural District and home to Climate Pledge Arena; more than 30 cultural, educational, sports, and entertainment organizations; and a broad range of public and community programs. In everything it does, Seattle Center’s mission is to create exceptional events, experiences, and environments which delight and inspire the human spirit to build stronger communities.
