Deadline is today for bids for firms who want to manage ads on Charlottesville Area Transit buses

The City of Charlottesville’s budget for FY2026 includes a total of $15,879,891 in revenues that go to Charlottesville Area Transit. Of that amount, $253,008 is to be used for marketing.

However, this year’s budget anticipates no revenue from advertising. CAT earned $51,385 in revenues in FY2022 but that dropped to $12,168 in FY2023 and $5,700 in FY2024. The budget for FY2025 anticipated $25,000 but the exact amount won’t be known to the public until after the audit of that year’s budget.

To try to reverse the tide and increase revenues, the city has issued a request for proposals for an outside company to manage advertising.

“The selected contractor will be responsible for all aspects of the program, including marketing and selling advertising space, managing client relationships, printing and installing ad materials, maintaining ad quality, handling finances, and delivering detailed monthly reporting,” reads a request for proposals sent out on July 15.

The RFP states that CAT scaled back efforts to accept advertising during restructuring. The winning contractor would be able to take 35 percent of the revenue with the rest going to CAT.

“With new leadership and a growing fleet including 35-foot and 29-foot buses, trolleys, and future expansions, CAT is ready to relaunch a robust advertising program,” the RFP continues.

Bids are due on August 11, 2025.

CAT is currently only taking advertisements for interior advertising according to marketing director Alex Pasqualone.

“Without dedicated staff to manage outreach, sales, and placements, very few ads were sold,” Pasqualone said. “Additionally, the time and resources required to restart and maintain a full advertising program to include exterior placements internally outweighed the value of doing so from a staffing and cost perspective.”

CAT does have a media kit for those who might be interested.

Before you go: This story was first published in the July 30, 2025 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement and then published here. One thing I really need to do is move to a content management system where it is all integrated. Will I do this thing? Stay tuned and click here to learn more about how I’m trying to get to another level.