Captive dwell time
Interior cards and displays reach riders during the trip.
Ask: which routes, vehicles and campaign period?Transit advertising costs in Canada
What does transit
advertising cost?
A bus poster, train wrap, shelter, station poster, platform screen and station domination are different media products. Cost depends on city, format, coverage, production, campaign length, availability and share of voice.
Transit inventory
VehiclesBus · train · subway · LRT
StationsPosters · murals · pillars · digital
Street levelShelters · benches · kiosks
PremiumWraps · dominations · video walls
Format families
Transit is a network
of media environments.
PATTISON currently markets transit vehicle and station products across many Canadian cities, from bus interiors and wraps to station murals, LED video walls and digital screens.
Moving visibility
Bus sides, kings, supers, wraps and train exteriors reach both riders and street audiences.
Ask: how many vehicles and what coverage?Place-based repetition
Posters, shelters and station inventory can concentrate exposure at specific commuter locations.
Ask: one face, a package or a network?High-impact inventory
Video walls, digital networks, murals and station takeovers can carry premium pricing and production requirements.
Ask: what share of voice and exclusivity?Visual cost model
Transit pricing starts with
coverage and format.
The media cost is only one component of the buy.
1MarketVancouver, Toronto, Calgary, Ottawa, etc.
2FormatVehicle, station, shelter, digital
3CoverageOne unit, route, station or network
4Campaign periodFlight length and availability
5ProductionPrint, install, removal, trafficking
Canadian market reality
Transit inventory changes
from city to city.
PATTISON lists transit advertising operations across major Canadian markets including Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Montréal, Toronto, Winnipeg and many others.
VancouverTransLink buses, SkyTrain, SeaBus and stationsMarket guide →
TorontoTTC vehicle and station environmentsMarket guide →
CalgaryCTrain, vehicles, shelters and benchesMarket guide →
OttawaOC Transpo vehicles, shelters and stationsMarket guide →
EdmontonETS vehicles, screens, shelters and benchesMarket guide →
MontréalTransit and broader language-market contextMarket guide →
Quote checklist
Ask what you are
actually buying.
A transit proposal should be specific enough that two providers or packages can be compared properly.
Inventory IDs / locations
Know the exact route, station, face, vehicle type or network being proposed.
Quantity and coverage
Confirm number of units, geographic spread and whether rotations are guaranteed.
Production
Clarify print, wrapping, installation, removal, digital trafficking and creative adaptation.
Digital share of voice
Ask about loop length, spot length, operating hours and number of advertisers.
Campaign dates
Confirm installation timing, flight period, maintenance and make-good terms.
Industry references
Transit advertising sources
These current sources document Canadian transit formats and market availability.
Next step
Define the market, route and format before asking for price.
That turns a vague transit quote into a media buy that can actually be compared.