BART Tests Mascot-Covered Train Car
- BART placed a mascot-covered train car into service as a pilot to test new revenue and marketing ideas. - One wrapped car is expected to attract riders' photos and sponsorship interest as officials evaluate potential ad revenue. - BART officials said the eye-catching design aims to spark smiles and boost nonfare income (patch.com).
Bay Area Rapid Transit has put a bright blue train car covered in dancing BARTy mascots into regular service as a test of whether wrapped cars can bring in new ad money. (bart.gov) BART said the pilot began Monday, April 20, and uses one car from its Fleet of the Future, the 775-car fleet that runs across the system’s 50 stations in five Bay Area counties. (bart.gov 1) (bart.gov 2) The agency previously sold wraps on its retired legacy cars, and this test is meant to see how wrap material holds up on the newer fleet’s different exterior finish, including durability, appearance and maintenance demands. (bart.gov) BART is trying the wrap as it searches for nonfare revenue while a larger budget problem closes in. Its FY27 preliminary budget shows a $375 million structural deficit, and a BART funding factsheet rounds that to $376 million. (bart.gov 1) (bart.gov 2) The agency says emergency funding runs out in 2026, and ridership has not returned to pre-pandemic levels because Bay Area work and travel patterns changed after COVID-19. In fiscal 2024, BART recorded nearly 50 million passenger trips, but it is still seeking a permanent operating funding source. (bart.gov) (bart.gov) BART has been pushing mascots before this ad test. The anime-style characters debuted in 2023, and agency officials said in 2024 that the campaign was aimed at younger riders after the pandemic-driven ridership collapse. (richmondconfidential.org) Dave Martindale, BART’s director of marketing and research, said the wrapped car is “a fun and creative way” to connect with riders while testing a new revenue source. Catherine Westphall, who manages BART’s advertising franchise program, said the pilot will show what it would take to scale train wraps “without impacting service.” (bart.gov) BART said the mascot car will roam the system for the next few months while staff decide whether full-car wraps can become a long-term product for advertisers. For now, the train is serving as both rolling promotion and budget experiment. (bart.gov)
