"It's hard to get through holiday parties without a seasonal sweater, "ugly" or otherwise. Shoppers can find red and green warmers emblazoned with reindeer, snowflakes, sloths, Darth Vader, their favorite macrobrew, urinating Santas, and the visages of various Will Ferrell characters. But for a subset of nerds, the past few years have brought increasing options for a new collectible conversation piece: the transit agency holiday sweater."
"Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) wasn't the first agency to offer holiday apparel when it ordered five sweaters decorated with a BART train and some reindeer for a one-off sweepstakes in 2021. But it was the first agency to see the idea take off. After the GM sported a sweater in a video interview "about BART's new air filters, of all things," recalls spokesperson Michelle Robertson, riders took notice and demanded to know where they could get one."
"A real attention getter, the sweater reached far beyond transit-geek circles on social media, and other transit agencies-including neighboring Muni in San Francisco, the Chicago Transit Authority, and Portland's TriMet-jumped in on the idea. Maritza Collazo, part of TriMet's marketing and communications team, says the agency was inspired to launch a holiday sweater after seeing BART and others do it, and because TriMet has heard a demand for more merch. "We have a passionate ridership here in Portland," Collazo says."
Transit agencies have begun producing collectible holiday sweaters that rapidly sell out and attract attention beyond transit enthusiasts. Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) ordered five sweaters for a one-off sweepstakes in 2021 and saw demand spike after the general manager wore one in a video about air filters, prompting orders and a quick sellout. Subsequent BART releases—an antlered train, then a 2023 design with light-up map lines and a push-button horn—sold hundreds and thousands of units. Social media amplification inspired other agencies, including Muni, the Chicago Transit Authority, and TriMet, to offer similar merchandise to meet rider demand.
Read at Portland Monthly
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