Rolling billboards Rolling billboards (May 28, 2004)

Caltrain boosts revenue with new train ads

By Candice Shih

It may be hard to spot what some consider Mountain View's newest eyesore -- it only stays in one place for a few minutes at a time.

For three weeks, two of Caltrain's trains have featured exterior print ads so large and imposing commuters have called to complain. How large are they? Each one is formed from 15,000 square feet of vinyl and covers the cars from roof to undercarriage.

The huge ads, currently promoting Target stores, are the basis of Caltrain's latest attempt to pad its bottom line. With up to three trains each bringing in $10,000 per month, the transit agency stands to earn $360,000 a year. Its 2003-2004 fiscal year budget is $71 million.

But not everyone is pleased with the changes.

"I think it's ugly," said commuter Michael Barnes, who took one of the decorated trains to Mountain View on Monday. "Why do they have to do that?"

There is one advantage to featuring advertising on a train though, said a Caltrain spokesperson. "One nice thing about it is that it's there and it's gone. It's a train -- it's constantly traveling," said Rita Haskin.

Another aspect of the new vinyl wrap that's receiving mixed results is its ability to decrease the light entering the cars by about 50 percent. Some like it because it shades them from direct sunlight; others dislike the decrease in visibility, said Haskin.

The advertising program, the first of its kind for Caltrain, will last one year. "We wanted to see what it would be like. We didn't want to commit to something long-term that we wouldn't be able to live with," added Haskin.

Two of Caltrain's 76 daily trains are running Target ads, while a third one has not yet been sold. The Target ads are set to last six months.

"We're out there marketing it. There's a chance that Target may do the third train," said Steve Schinn, a spokesperson for Viacom Outdoor, Caltrain's sales agent. "Target is extremely excited about the program and is very happy with the results."

Getting new advertisers is a challenge, Schinn said, because producing each new wrap is expensive. It took five men five full days to cover each five-car train, the largest transit vehicle ever wrapped.

Plus, managing the large sheets of graphics were difficult. "You peel off the back like a Post-It note, and hope the wind doesn't blow and it sticks together," said Schinn.

E-mail Candice Shih at cshih@mv-voice.com

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