BART Rolls Out Mascot-Covered Train Car
- BART wrapped a train car in mascots to test new advertising and revenue ideas. - The eye-catching car is expected to spark smiles, waves, and plenty of photos. - Officials say the pilot gauges rider response as BART explores non-fare revenue sources (patch.com).
Bay Area Rapid Transit has put a bright blue train car covered in dancing BARTy mascots into regular service as it tests whether full-car wraps can become a new advertising business. (bart.gov) BART said the pilot began Monday, April 20, and uses one of its newer Fleet of the Future cars rather than the older legacy fleet it retired from most service. The agency said riders can spot the wrapped car moving through stations across the system. (bart.gov, bart.gov) The mascots are not the ad sale. BART said it used its own BARTy characters on the first wrap so staff can test decal adhesion, installation work, and maintenance timing before selling the format to outside advertisers. (bart.gov, sf.streetsblog.org) BART is trying the wrap as it searches for money beyond fares. The agency says federal and state emergency funds that have helped balance operations are projected to run out in 2026. (bart.gov) That pressure has been building for years as ridership changed after the pandemic and remote work cut commute traffic. BART’s fiscal 2024 annual report said fares once covered nearly 70% of operating costs, but covered 22% in FY24. (bart.gov, bart.gov) The train wrap is one of several smaller revenue ideas BART has been exploring while also cutting costs. The agency said it has already reduced expenses by hundreds of millions of dollars as it tries to close a longer-term budget gap. (antiochherald.com, bart.gov) BART’s advertising team said wrapping a car is more complicated on the new fleet because the exterior finish differs from older trains and the work has to fit around maintenance schedules. That makes this first car a practical test as much as a public-facing stunt. (sf.streetsblog.org, bart.gov) The agency has also been using the BARTy mascots in broader outreach aimed at younger riders and families. A 2024 profile by Richmond Confidential described the characters as part of BART’s effort to make the system feel more approachable to new audiences. (richmondconfidential.org) For now, the blue mascot car is both a rolling ad sample and a budget test. If riders respond well and the wrap holds up, BART could turn the same space into paid inventory on trains that already circle the Bay every day. (bart.gov, hoodline.com)
