Ready for a Scotiabank GO station? Metrolinx plans to sell naming rights for train stops

Your local GO station could soon be going by a different name as Metrolinx pushes forward with plans to sell station naming rights.

In a formal request for information issued on February 15, Metrolinx is seeking proposals from interested parties for naming rights at train stations. If the plan goes through, corporate sponsors can add their names to existing GO Transit and UP Express stations. The same applies to all future GO and UP stations.

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In the proposal, Metrolinx states, “We are committed to working together to create a partnership that will meet shared objectives, such as increase revenue, increase market share for our partners and provide a positive customer experience on public transit.”

Fannie Sunshine, Metrolinx spokesperson, told Daily Hive, “Working with the provincial government, station naming has been part of a strategy to enhance transit and the customer experience by generating new forms of non-fare revenue.”

She added that Metrolinx is exploring how these partnerships will play a role in improving and expanding services and enhancing customer experience.

“We are particularly encouraged by these new revenue opportunities as we start to recover from the effects of the pandemic on our ridership,” she said.

As expected, people aren’t thrilled by the idea.

@Metrolinx @MetrolinxSpox @GOtransit Naming rights for stations is gross. Terrible idea. Names should indicate the area of the stop. Advertise in other ways in stations.

— Loretta ⛄😷❄🐈‍⬛ (@lettienets) March 1, 2022

i will literally never refer to a station by a branded name. keep public transit corporation free. @Metrolinx https://t.co/teuEIa2HCy

— blair (@bsmithherbert) March 1, 2022

Sunshine said that customer privacy is a priority, and PRESTO ridership data won’t be shared with participating partners beyond aggregated publicly available information.