TransLink SkyTrain now has in-tunnel video ads outside moving trains

Expo Line commuters may have noticed even a tunnel won’t stop advertising on transit in Metro Vancouver anymore.

TransLink has launched the first North American full-motion video system along the SkyTrain line.

The 10-second silent videos play on vertical LED light stands mounted to the walls of the Dunsmuir tunnel as passengers travel from Waterfront to Burrard Station. Each light stand contains 360 LEDs and the videos are triggered automatically by incoming trains on the Expo line.

@citynewsvan #TransLink now has in-tunnel video ads outside moving #SkyTrain cars. More on our website. Link in bio. #DigitalMarketing #VancouverNews #BCNews #BritishColumbia #BC #NewsReport #BreakingNews #NewsReporter ♬ original sound – CityNews Vancouver

TransLink says the ads will bring in another revenue source. The transit provider says ridership still hasn’t fully recovered since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, leading to a dip in revenue.

In March, TransLink’s board of governors voted to increase fares an average 2.3 per cent for all types of rides starting July 1. The transit authority cancelled a 4.6 per cent increase in 2020 and lowered last year’s increase to encourage people to keep taking transit.

Locally-based adtrackmedia will install and look after the technology, as well as manage the ad content. That means the system won’t cost TransLink anything, according to the company.

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The company already has similar systems installed in South American, Asian, and European markets.

This technology is only in the Dunsmuir tunnel right now, but TransLink says in the coming months, it will expand to a section from Stadium-Chinatown to Granville Station and is considering other locations.