Seattle - Washington State - page 59

Discount Passes
On Saturday, Sunday, and holidays, you can purchase an All Day Pass for
$2.50; it's available on any Metro bus or the Waterfront Streetcar, and it's
good for anywhere outside the Ride Free Area. For other days of the week,
you can purchase a Visitor Pass for $5. These passes can be used on buses,
the water taxi, and the Waterfront Streetcar. These latter passes are avail-
able at Metro Customer Service offices at the Westlake Tunnel Station on
the mezzanine level or at King Street Center, 201 S. Jackson St. These passes
can also be purchased at the Seattle's Convention and Visitors Bureau, Fifth
Avenue and Pike Street, and at the Ticket/Ticket counters at Pike Place Mar-
ket, First Avenue and Pike Street; in Capitol Hill's Broadway Market, 401
Broadway E., and in Bellevue at the Meydenbauer Center, NE Sixth Street
and 112th Avenue. For more information contact Metro ( & 206/624-PASS;
http://transit.metrokc.gov).

Value

BY WATERFRONT STREETCAR In addition to the bus system, Metro
( & 800/542-7876 in Washington, or 206/553-3000; http://transit.metrokc.gov)
also operates old-fashioned streetcars that follow a route along the waterfront from
Pier 70 to Pioneer Square and then east to the corner of Fourth Avenue South and
South Jackson Street, which is on the edge of the International District. These
streetcars are more tourist attraction than commuter transportation and actually
are much more useful to visitors than are most of the city's buses. Tourist sites
along the streetcar route include Pioneer Square, the Seattle Aquarium, IMAX-
Dome Film Experience, and Pike Place Market. In the summer, streetcars operate
Monday through Friday from around 6:30am to 11:30pm, departing every 20 to
30 minutes; on Saturday, Sunday, and holidays they operate from around 9am to
midnight (shorter hours in other months). One-way fare is $1.25 in off-peak
hours and $1.50 in peak hours (50¢ for youth ages 5-17); exact change is
required. If you plan to transfer to a Metro bus, you can get a transfer good for 90
minutes. Streetcars are wheelchair accessible.
BY MONORAIL If you are planning a visit to Seattle Center, there is no bet-
ter way to get there from downtown than on the Seattle Monorail ( & 206/
905-2620; www.seattlemonorail.com), which leaves from Westlake Center
shopping mall (Fifth Ave. and Pine St.). The elevated trains cover the 1 1 ⁄ 4 miles
in 2 minutes and pass right through the middle of the Experience Music Project
as they arrive and depart from Seattle Center. The monorail operates Monday
through Friday from 7:30am to 11pm, Saturday and Sunday from 9am to
11pm. Departures are every 10 minutes. The one-way fare is $1.50 for adults
and 75¢ for seniors and children ages 5 to 12.
BY WATER TAXI As long as funding continues, a water taxi will operate
between the downtown Seattle waterfront (Pier 54) and Seacrest Park in West
Seattle, providing access to West Seattle's popular Alki Beach and adjacent paved
path. For a schedule of service, check with the Metro ( & 206/205-3866; http://
transit.metrokc.gov). The one-way fare is $2 (free for children under age 5). Also
free with a valid bus transfer or all-day pass.
BY FERRY Washington State Ferries ( & 800/84-FERRY or 888/808-7977
within Washington state, or 206/464-6400; www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries) is the
most extensive ferry system in the United States, and while these ferries won't