What would get you to use the Seattle monorail?

Approximately 2 million people use the Seattle monorail each year, but management wants to get that number much higher.

“We’ve got a combination of tourists who use it, especially in the summer months when the cruise ships are in town,” Seattle Monorail general manager Megan Ching told KTTH Radio’s Jason Rantz, “but also a lot of locals who are using it to get back and forth.”

Please save our monorail, a few people plead

The rail was introduced at the 1962 World’s Fair. Eight million people rode it during the first six months of its existence.

The line connects Westlake Center Mall to the Space Needle. It can get passengers between the two stations in about two minutes.

In an attempt to return to the halcyon days, Seattle Monorail management wants the public to tell them how to make the service better.

“At this point, what we’re trying to do is get public input,” Ching said, “to really understand how people are using the trains now, what the perceptions are and what we can do to make improvements.”

For some, the monorail might seem like an anachronism. Trying to improve it isn’t worth the time and money. Ching warns if you’re waiting for light rail, it’ll be quite awhile.

“ST3 or light rail is not going to be coming to Seattle Center until 2036,” Ching said. “That’s a significant amount of time before light rail is really serving the Seattle Center, Queen Anne, Ballard area.”

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There are a couple factors already in play that are likely to increase monorail ridership in the near future.

“Right now, there’s a lot going on in our city, obviously, but also at Seattle Center,” Ching said. “With KeyArena undergoing re-development and the Oak View Group looking at trying to expand the arena and bring in an NHL hockey team, there’s certainly going to be a great demand.”

Under the current deal between the private management company Seattle Monorail Services and the City of Seattle, passengers can’t use ORCA cards to pay for monorail admission. Ching hopes that will change soon.

“The monorail is looking at integrating into the ORCA program next year,” Ching said. “So I think that will make it also another way locals can use it.”

With all the imminent changes on the horizon, Ching is looking for input from the public to make certain they’re offering riders the best experience possible.

Photos: Re-live the monorail’s glory days

“What we’re looking at is trying to make the monorail more accessible to the public,” Ching said. “I think it’s about really making sure that it’s a feasible way for people to get back and forth from where they need to go. I do think that having consistent service that’s above ground and not competing with surface street traffic absolutely has its advantages.”

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