Transit advertising (subway, rail, and light rail environments) offers deep urban reach and formats digital channels can't imitate. Here's how the inventory is structured and what you're actually buying.

Transit is frequently sold in packages: a set number of units distributed across defined stations or lines. The package listing specifies exactly which stations, which unit types, and how many of each; that child-unit detail defines what you're buying, so always review it. If a package description is ambiguous, ask for the station-by-station breakdown before contracting.

Transit inventory spans more than 250 markets. The deepest are New York, Las Vegas, Miami, San Francisco, Chicago, and Boston domestically, plus Mexico and London internationally, each operated by the transit system's media concessionaire.

Exact positions (platform vs. mezzanine, near which exits) matter for impact. Unit-level placement detail and photos are available per unit; for dominations, a station map showing every included position should accompany the proposal.

Transit generally runs on forced production, meaning the transit system's media operator produces the creative themselves rather than routing it through AdQuick's print partners. You supply approved artwork to spec; the operator handles printing and installation, and production appears as a line item on your proposal. Wraps and dominations carry the largest production and installation costs of any transit format.

Plan an extra week or two beyond a comparable street-level buy. Transit placements usually involve a municipal partner, so creative needs approval from the transit authority in addition to the media operator, and that review sits on top of normal production time. Wraps and station dominations need the most runway.