Makati to BGC on monorail? Seattle shows how it’s done

SEATTLE, USA — While the planned subway from Makati City to Bonifacio Global City (BGC) in the Philippines has been taking years to construct, as the Philippine government has reportedly just finished the procurement for the remaining segments of the Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP) eyed to be finished by 2029, in Seattle, as early as the 1960s, a monorail was constructed in just less than a year, and still operates today with only two stops and in almost the same distance as BGC and Makati.

Constructed in April 1961 and completed on March 24, 1962, the Seattle Center Monorail was finished by Alweg Rapid Transit Systems nearly one month before the start of the World’s Fair at a cost of $3.5 million (about P1.7 billion), which Alweg recovered and even realized a profit before the fair ended on Oct. 21, 1962.

The monorail system is composed of two trains with a fixed guideway to only two stops: Westlake Center Station and Seattle Center Station, and vice versa. The Westlake Center station is inside its namesake mall that is a five-minute walk from major hotels like The Westin, while Seattle Center is adjacent to the city’s major attractions, Space Needle and Museum of Pop Culture. 

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The monorail is open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. for Mondays to Thursdays and until 11 p.m. on Fridays. On Saturdays, it opens at 8:30 a.m. and closes at 11 p.m. On Sundays, it opens at 8:30 a.m. and closes at 9 p.m. 

Tickets to the monorail are free for kids under five, while those who fall under the Youth category (6 to 18) are charged $1.75 (around P101); adults (19 to 64) for $3.50 (P203); while seniors 56 and up and those who have special needs, people with Medicare cards, and US military with ID have a reduced rate of $1.75 (around P101) for a one-way ticket. The monorail even has its own merchandise!

The monorail has an electronic kiosk selling tickets, but tickets can also be bought online, with an option to pre-order for a one-way or a round-trip. Orca Cards can also be pre-loaded and can be used by