A creative idea for the TTC

In this era of high oil prices and global warming, the need to upgrade our transit infrastructure takes on a new urgency.

I have an innovative ancillary revenue generator proposal for the TTC to consider: Auctioning off naming rights to their subway stations to bidders from corporate Canada. Winning bidders would get a 10 year renewable naming license, exclusive to a particular station. I expect Yonge-Bloor, Union and King would attract the highest bids while lesser travelled stations like Royal York, Chester and Main Street would be relative bargains. Sorta like the monopoly board properties (Union and Yonge-Bloor would be the Boardwalk and Park Place while Chester and Royal York would be the Baltic and Mediterranean Ave.)!

The winning corporation (in exchange for the promotional benefit of having a station bearing their name listed on subway maps / station signage and X% of the advertising space in the station) would be required to bear the capital and operating costs of maintaining the interior and exterior of their adopted station to certain minimum standards prescribed by TTC management (which I expect would be exceeded as every corporation tries to outdo the other in “beautifying” the station that bears their name!) Perhaps the corporations will want to adopt stations close to their corporate headquarters

Just think of it: King Station could soon be known as TD Financial Station. Union could become RBC station, Yonge & Bloor could ne renamed Manulife Station, Wilson as Bombardier Station, Islington as Tim Hortons Station, Eglinton as Canadian Tire Station, Finch as Magna Station, McCowan as ctvglobemedia Station ... and so on!

If you think this idea has any traction, spread it around and talk it up with your city councillor!