San Francisco Adds Three New DOOH Display-Filled Subway Stations

November 22, 2022 by Dave Haynes

One of the things that’s always surprising when I pass through the Bay Area is how awful the subway system is, given how it is a world capital of technology. But that is starting to change. The central transit terminal is a big, tech-filled wonder that feels like a nice airport, and now the city has built and opened a new three-stop subway line that intersects with the grubby old, regionally-run BART system.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has opened the Central Subway line, which runs to and through some dense San Francisco neighborhoods like Chinatown, Union Square and Yerba Buena/ Moscone. Unlike the poured concrete, brutalist look of stations on the BART system (at least the ones I’ve been in), these new stops are shiny and slick, and now have a series of displays on a Digital OOH network sold by the media company Intersection.

Says PR:

As part of this new development, SFMTA has expanded its contract with Intersection, including a five-year extension of the base contract, and the deployment of spectacular large format static and engaging digital media assets throughout these new stations.

As a long term transit  advertising partner of the SFMTA, Intersection’s contract will now run through June 2029, and grants Intersection the right to deploy the transit system’s first ever digital advertising network. This project includes the addition of 17 digital displays that provide a mix of SFMTA information and advertising, as well as large-scale video walls. With the addition of digital displays at these key stations, Intersection will help SFMTA to generate more revenue, and to better communicate with their customers in real-time.

Another core product available at each of the new Central Subway stations will be station dominations— which give brands the opportunity to exclusively take over both static and digital advertising at a station. Station dominations provide brands with the ability to effectively reach and impact diverse audiences throughout the city— from the quiet neighborhoods of Outer Sunset, to the bustling core of downtown San Francisco. 

The Central Subway line will provide transit riders with direct, rapid access to the three neighborhoods and is set for a soft launch on November 19, 2022. All of the Intersection displays have been deployed and will be available when the stations open.  The soft launch will have the Central Subway running only on weekends from November to December 2022, with daily services scheduled to begin in January 2023. 

“Our vision at Intersection is to enhance the ways that cities connect with their citizens, and through our dynamic, state-of-the-art digital assets, the SFMTA is poised to be able to do just that in brand new ways. We look forward to our continued collaboration in bringing this energetic city the best-in-class outdoor advertising solutions that generate non-fare-box revenue for the SFMTA and amplify the transit customer experience,” says Scott Goldsmith, President & Chief Operating Officer at Intersection.

The SFMTA is a department of the City and County of San Francisco and manages all ground transportation in the city, while the BART system covers five counties in the region.