Nobody doubts the financial challenges in running a modern transport system, but this is an especially bad idea. How long before it's the United States of America by Goldman Sachs and Pfizer? In many ways we're already there, but this trend has to stop.
CTA President Richard Rodriguez announced Wednesday that the perennially underfunded transit agency will go out for bids soon to sell naming rights to just about anything it owns and for which others are willing to pay big money in exchange for the public exposure.
That includes rail lines and stations, bus routes, retail concessions, and special events. Even the venerable CTA logo will be on the auction block, Rodriguez said.
The transit agency expects to award corporate sponsorships by next spring, officials said. Rodriguez said the CTA will go out for bids next week to hire a corporate adviser who will help package the sponsorship opportunities.
