San Diego Trolley’s signature red patina has been replaced with splashy displays of Mario Kart and anime characters with slashing swords.

A record 45 trolley cars have been wrapped with advertisements ahead of Comic-Con International and are expected to bring in thousands of dollars for the cash-strapped transit agency. Nintendo, anime streamer Crunchyroll, Hulu and Amazon Prime are among the companies with ads all over the light-rail system.

It costs roughly $16,000 for the production and installation to wrap a single trolley car, but some companies, like Hulu, have covered three cars (typical size of most single trains) to the tune of $48,000. That is just how much it costs to print out and slap on the trolley. There are additional fees just for the privilege to advertise on the train.

San Diego’s Metropolitan Transit System, or MTS, has a contract with Clear Channel to handle getting the contracts and putting on the wraps, which take about a day to install. MTS was unable to provide exact advertising fees, noting there are variables for time of year and how long they are up, but they said it is guaranteed a minimum of $950,000 a year from Clear Channel.

One reason it’s hard to pin down exactly how much Comic-Con advertising will bring in: It includes more than just trolleys. MTS’ fiscal year 2025 budget — which is for 12 months and not just Comic-Con —  estimates $2.9 million for all vehicle wraps (including buses), $224,000 for bus benches and $653,000 for its three-sided digital billboard it operates next to the Gaslamp Quarter trolley station.

The cost seems to be a good deal to advertisers because all available slots sold out, said Mark Olson, MTS director of marketing. Last year, there were 36 wraps so this year is clearly a boon for the agency. When the program started in 2012, eight trolley cars were wrapped.

“It’s all hands on deck,” Olson said while showing off the trains downtown on Friday. “The whole agency rallies around this event.”

Some downtown residents have complained about advertisements that wrap apartment buildings, hotels and more — but the trolley wraps don’t seem to get the same complaints. Comic-Con attendees often film and take photos of their favorite trains, sometimes waiting at stations for the train to go by.

Waiting for a train to Grantville on Friday morning, Jamari Taylor, 21, said he likes seeing the covered trolleys.

“I think it’s actually fun,” he said. “There’s people talking about them. It creates more of a scene.”

When the four-day event starts in two weeks, all wrapped trolleys can be found on the Green Line and the trolley’s special event route. Right now, they are filtering through the whole system, showing up from Mission Valley to San Diego State University.

The reach of the displays goes beyond just people seeing them from freeways and train stations, but to its many passengers. Trolley ridership surges during the convention with 60,000 additional trips a day — more than double its usual ridership on the trolley and bus system combined. For comparison, a concert or Padres game usually averages 8,000 to 12,000 additional passengers.

MTS is showing the love to its riders with employees at downtown stations handing out exclusive pins and cardboard trolleys, which double as a coin bank. Crunchyroll and Nintendo partnered with the agency to create the cardboard replicas.

Revenue generated by MTS during Comic-Con goes directly into the service and pays for, among other things, all the extra employees it needs to operate during the convention. It comes at a good time: MTS faces $100 million deficits in future years and is considering trying for a sales tax hike for the November 2026 ballot. Its board recently voted to permanently allow alcohol advertisements on bus shelters and trolleys.

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A wrap for the Prime show “Butterfly” ahead of Comic-Con International (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

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MTS is offering discounted travel cards for Comic-Con attendees to be used on the trolley or buses. It is $20 for a five-day pass, $16 for four days, $13 for three days and $10 for two days.

Eagle-eyed locals may have already seen several of the wrapped trains in the past few weeks, with more coming out closer to the convention. Nintendo is a big presence, using its wraps to advertise its new Switch 2 console and games for it, Donkey Kong Bananza and Mario Kart World.

Anime streamer Crunchyroll has two trolley wraps, one for its very popular “Demon Slayer” series and another for its latest show, “Gachiakuta.” Amazon’s Prime network will be advertising two shows, “The Boys” spinoff “Gen V” and a new spy show, “Butterfly.” Multiplayer video game Brawl Stars also has a wrap.

Arguably the most visible wrap will be Hulu, which covers the train in a green hue to advertise its animated offerings, including “The Simpsons” and “Family Guy.”

Originally Published: July 11, 2025 at 4:21 PM PDT