When done right, public transit becomes more than just infrastructure. It becomes a symbol and a form of marketing itself. It becomes famous and accomplishes the same thing as any famous building, landmark or museum.
Here then, are eight public transit vehicles/systems that have transcended being merely transportation and are instead signals of sophistication, ingenuity, uniqueness, urbanity and efficiency:
The London Double Decker Bus.
The San Francisco Cable Car.
The Venice Gondolas.
The Paris Metro.
The Bangkok Tuk-Tuks.
The Chicago 'El' Trains.
The New York Roosevelt Island Tram.
The Toronto Island Ferries.
These are just a few of them, but there are certain dozens more. What transit systems do you think are as much marketing as they are transit?
And maybe more importantly, why do you think we spend our time using architecture and monuments as marketing but not infrastructure and public transit?
Creative Commons images by celesteh, Matthew Black, Oneras, ricardo.martin, haemengine, David Paul Ohmer, Doug Letterman & 416style.
4 Comments
The SF Cable cars are ALL tourism. The tickets cost 5x as much as any other form of transit and they’re poorly maintained and dangerous.
I wouldn’t say they’re all tourism, Les. Riding it you see a lot of locals who hop on and off to get to work. It seems like the drivers typically just turn a blind eye to it. Basically local riders are subsidized by the tourists. And yes, they are poorly maintained and dangerous as I mention in this post https://www.gondolaproject.com/2010/02/20/california-and-powell/ The point of this post was to discuss how public transit can be marketing as well as transit.
My fav is the Peak to Peak gondola, just built in Whistler, BC to connect the peaks of Blackcomb and Whistler for sightseers, skiers and snowboarders.
Undoubtedly iconic, but not part of a marketing program, yet at least are the Filipino Jeepneys.