SFMTA, BART lean into region’s 'healthy appetite' for public-transit merch

San Francisco’s market for public-transportation-branded merchandise is booming, just in time for the holidays.

BART unveiled its holiday collection — headlined by the fourth iteration of its ugly sweater — Monday, nearly three weeks after the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency unveiled its own cotton-acrylic jumper.

Officials with the agencies told The Examiner riders have reacted positively to their seasonal offerings. The merchandise is effective at building camaraderie among riders eager to show their pride for transit agencies while also increasing brand awareness, they said.

BART launched its first ugly holiday sweater in 2021, and the agency expanded its collection this year to include an ugly holiday vest, a beanie and a scarf. The inaugural jumper was a viral hit, and BART said sales have grown each year — up from 150 the first year to 3,500 in 2023, according to the agency.

Officials said the agency netted more than $105,000 in profit for its operating budget last year. Michelle Robertson, a member of BART’s communications department, told The Examiner on Monday that the rail line was averaging one sweater sold every minute.

Robertson said that the goal of BART’s holiday merchandise is “to celebrate public transportation and its essential role in the region.”

“BART means a lot to the people who live here, and our trains are entwined in many locals’ most cherished memories, whether it’s going prom-dress shopping, heading out on an adventure with your grandparents or getting home from a first date,” she said.

Inspired by BART’s famous ugly holiday sweater, SFMTA officials last month announced their own sweater , the first item in what employees say will become an expansive merchandise store.

Robertson said “BART could not be more thrilled that local transit agencies like Muni are creating their own holiday merchandise.”

Known as the “Icons of San Francisco,” the $55 ugly holiday sweater features cable cars in honor of the 150th anniversary of their invention, and the Transamerica Pyramid as a nod to the building’s renewal under developer Michael Shvo. F line car No. 1055 inspired the color scheme, while The City’s parrots, Dungeness crab and seals make appearances on the sweater.

Erica Kato, a spokesperson for SFMTA, told The Examiner that “there’s been a healthy appetite for holiday sweaters so riders can rep their favorite transit system with pride.”

She said transit officials from other agencies are receptive to seeing each other implement their own merchandising plans.

“We don’t see it as a competition,” Kato told The Examiner. “There is room for all of us in this space and clear demand”

“If anything, folks are building a collection of sweaters across agencies,” she said.

Jeffrey Tumlin, SFMTA’s director of transportation , said last month that the holiday sweaters are an effective way for the agency to foster community among riders, as well as reaffirm their personal connections to Muni.

“What is clear is that people from all over San Francisco love Muni more than they have in all of the years that we’ve been doing community survey work every year since 2001,” he said during the agency’s board of directors meeting June 18 — the same day SFMTA opened sales for its sweaters.

Robertson said the proliferation of public-transit-branded merchandise in people’s closets is also a sign that agencies are doing their part to stay in riders’ good graces by providing enjoyable travel experiences. The SFMTA revealed late last month that a survey reported ridership satisfaction had reached a 20-year-high in 2023 .

“Seeing people leap to purchase our holiday sweaters or spotting them out in public is a reminder that the work we do is important and that BART matters to our community,” she said. “There is nothing more gratifying than that.”