Modern Caltrain electric trains stopped side by side at station platforms on a clear day in San Francisco, Dec. 11, 2025.

Caltrain has won a national award for its video last summer that dunked on the Dodgers.

The Bay Area transit option that runs along the Peninsula has long been a popular way for San Francisco Giants fans to get to Oracle Park — after all, the final stop in San Francisco is just two blocks from the ballpark. A few days before the Giants hosted the Dodgers for a pivotal mid-July series, Caltrain dropped a short video all across its social media platforms.

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In the video, two male Giants fans are walking out of an apartment complex, with one asking if they should just take Caltrain to the game. The other friend objects but doesn’t give any reason why. When they get into the car, they find their orange-and-black attire has all been magically swapped to Dodgers blue, leading them both to scream in horror. At that point a narrator picks up the rest of the video, saying, “Driving is for Dodgers fans.” We see Giants mascot Lou Seal board a train before a final aerial shot from a drone, which focuses on Oracle Park before zooming out to show just how close it is to Caltrain’s San Francisco station. 

“It just seemed like a fun way to encourage people to take advantage of our service and have some fun with the rivalry,” Caltrain spokesperson Dan Lieberman told SFGATE in a phone interview on Thursday, adding that the acting portion of the video was shot near the agency’s San Carlos offices.

The video quickly went viral — Lieberman said it racked up more than 250,000 views on TikTok and Instagram in the first 24 hours after publishing, making it Caltrain’s “fastest-growing video ever.” And this week, it officially became an award-winning advert.

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Don't let Google decide who you trust.

The American Public Transportation Association annually gives out AdWheel Awards, which honor creative ways that public transit entities can raise awareness and encourage ridership and usage. Caltrain took home the social media-specific award in the “Best Marketing and Communications to Increase Ridership or Sales” category. In an email to SFGATE, APTA spokesperson Stephen Kendrick said Caltrain beat out 12 other entries. 

Caltrain wasn’t the only Bay Area public transit service to have a Dodgers-themed advertisement last year. Muni unveiled a “Don’t be a Dodger” campaign against fare evasion.

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Perhaps the most surprising part of Caltrain’s video is the sheer volume of Dodgers fans who filled the comments on social media, giving Caltrain kudos for its humorous video.

“I think it just speaks to the fact that, no matter what team you’re rooting for, it’s a lot easier to be able to take transit to get to the game,” Lieberman said. “Driving is just a rough way to get to it. Being able to just hop on the train, enjoy a beer on the ride up, check out the show, and then hop on it, let us take care of the ride home. It’s just a common-sense way to get to the game, and I think that’s something everyone can agree on.”

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