Comments on: Philadelphia May Accept Money to Privatize Station Naming; Pittsburgh Considers Similar Move

By: Racquel Fanguy

Racquel Fanguy — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 21:24:01 +0000

How do you think this is going to effect the industry?

By: John W

John W — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:49:32 +0000

According to various commenters below the Guardian article, it’s a coincidence – the blue was chosen before Barclays was even in the picture. Still seems daft not to use green though. What are motorists going to think? Well, if it was green I’d have no problem being a selfish prat and parking across the bike lane, but since it’s blue I won’t?

(I’m guessing it’s based on highway signs: green equals A road, blue equals motorway).

By: Frank

Frank — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:22:46 +0000

Oh no, all new cycle paths, or at least the “Cycle Superhighways,” are that hideous blue. I was just in London a few weeks ago and I wondered to myself, why are they using such a cringe-inducing color when the current green works just fine? Unfortunately, now we know why. For forcing Londoners to be blinded by such an awful shade of blue, Barclays should have picked up the entire tab (£140 million).

By: John W

John W — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:11:59 +0000

Slightly OT, but the Guardian has an interesting article on the corporate sponsorship and branding for London's new bike-sharing system - Barclays Cycle Hire. There's even a shotgun wedding of a logo for the scheme, combining the bank's brand with a variation of the classic London Underground roundel. I hadn't realised, but not only are the bikes emblazoned with the bank's logo, but the new bike paths - Barclays Cycle Superhighways - are sponsored by them as well (though I'm not sure if the branding appears out in the real world for those or just on the website). Sponsorship of cycling projects - £25 million. Overwhelming corporate presence in the centre of one of the world's most touristed cities - priceless.

By: David

David — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 23:55:03 +0000

They sold the naming rights so they could get rid of R# regional rail sign-age for free

By: hammersklavier

hammersklavier — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 04:48:02 +0000

The station name will be "AT&T Sports and Entertainment Complex", which (ironically enough) tells us Philadelphians more about what's there than "Pattison" ever did. Here is the map.

By: The Urbanophile » Blog Archive » Urbanoscope

The Urbanophile » Blog Archive » Urbanoscope — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 15:16:42 +0000

[...] Transport Politic: Philadelphia selling full naming rights to SEPTA station to AT&T [...]

By: Railguy

Railguy — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:16:44 +0000

The point that seems to be missed in this discussion is this: If not for the fact that we (as a society) have heavily skewed our transportation funding into highways and airports, transit agencies and commuter railroads would not have to resort to selling naming rights to corporate entities. But until our political leaders dedicated a more releiable source of funding to rail & transit, those agencies are left with little choice.

If naming a station for AT&T brings in revenue that either saves service or enables better service, it’s a deal worth making.

By: Nathanael

Nathanael — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 04:45:03 +0000

Agreed — if you’re going to do something fairly obnoxious and ridership-upsetting like this, you’d better be getting a LOT of money. $3 million (over five years?!?) is paltry.

The sponsor should (a) pay the full cost of changing signage and maps, (b) create an escrow account to pay the full cost of changing signage and maps BACK should the sponsor drop out, and (c) pay in perpetuity the full costs of maintenance of whatever is being sponsored (like a station).

At that level of funding, this sort of deal would make sense. I think SEPTA’s getting shortchanged.

By: Alon Levy

Alon Levy — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 23:30:42 +0000

Paying legislators is much cheaper than paying taxes.