Bye bye bus wraps
The Metropolitan King County Council unanimously adopted a budget on Nov. 20 that says goodbye to most of the $700K a year generated by bus wrap ads. Wraps have been sold for 25 buses for next year already so the actual ban won’t start until 2008.
That’s not a minute too soon for me and for everyone else I know with whom I’ve discussed the issue of bus wraps. From the outside they’re ugly and annoying in a way that billboards aren’t. I don’t know why that it since they often have the same copy–I guess it’s because once I know where a billboard is located I can usually choose to look away from it. Bus wraps bring the billboard to me whether I want to see it or not. Still, that’s a minor complaint compared to what they’re like on the inside.
Ad-wrapped buses are dark inside–on a bright day, walking onto one of those buses can be like stepping into a cave until your eyes adjust. The wraps block views from the windows, too: looking out through the layer of mesh covering the window severely limits visibility, a mere annoyance if you’re simply trying to enjoy the view, but a real pain if you’re on an unfamiliar route and are on the lookout for addresses or landmarks.
Metro General Manager Kevin Desmond says he doesn’t understand why the council wants to eliminate this revenue. He also claims that riders’ complaints about the buses have been few. He thinks the ban on bus wraps is a bad idea. However, while $700,000 is not an insubstantial amount of money, total revenue for all bus ads is $4.6 million–clearly, more traditional bus advertising brings in significantly more money than bus wraps and isn’t nearly as annoying.
(Numerical data via Seattle Business Journal)
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Just don’t complain when fares go up, or when they reduce the number of buses running during rush hour. I would have gladly accepted some more bus wrap ads to get a few more buses and keep fares low.
And you do realize that “more traditional bus advertising brings in significantly more money than bus wraps” only because the bus wraps were in a “pilot” stage, right?
Besides, I actually liked how all the buses didn’t look the same.
I’ve got to agree with Frank. Also to address your complaint about it being a “real pain if you’re on an unfamiliar route and are on the lookout for addresses or landmarks”, this should not happen if the bus driver actually does their job like they are supposed to (they are supposed to announce each stop as they go by it). Also this money could go to upgrading the buses like the ones that have the reader boards inside telling you which stop is coming up next. I don’t understand why the CC decided to give up revenue when the buses always seem to have a hard time getting the funding they need.
Actually, bus drivers are only required to call out major bus stops once they leave downtown. (They’re supposed to call out every stop downtown.) I agree that there are plenty of drivers who fall down on the job about calling out stops, but it’s not the bus driver’s job to call out “you are now passing 123 Main St” or “there’s Dr. Smith’s office”. If the coverings over the window didn’t make the inside dark AND impair visibility, I could learn to live with the ads on the outside, but if you read over the SBJ article I cited, you’ll see that everyone involved is sure that partial bus coverings just won’t work.
I’m not convinced that having the bus wraps brought us any more buses or routes but I can’t say that for certain because I haven’t done any research on it. I would encourage you to share your opinions with the King County Council and/or King County Metro, though, if you aren’t already, though. I don’t think they get nearly enough public feedback.
That’s a good point, Tony–my major problem with the bus wraps is how hard it is to see outside, especially if the windows are fogged up. But even if the bus drivers are calling out the stops it’s frequently hard to hear them on a full bus, so the reader boards would be a huge help.
So I’m also not sure I understand just why they’re giving up the source of revenue when they keep talking about how badly they need money. You’d think every little bit would help.
I am definitely an opponent of covering up the windows, but they can do bus wraps and leave the windows clear. They already leave the last windows in the back clear.
I wish we had underground trains, but since we don’t, I’d like to enjoy the view.
I will be glad to see the bus wraps go. Thanks for posting this.
I hate not being able to see out of the bus, a problem which has made me miss a stop on an express bus before, so I had to walk like a mile to get back to the right stop.
I hate the omnipresence of predatory ads in poor neighborhoods. Do kids on welfare really need to see dozens of 50-foot iPod or Nokia ads every day? Aren’t there enough pressures on families already?
To me, the buses are a public good in the way that parks or libraries are. We wouldn’t tolerate library books with ads pasted on the covers, or parks with posters stapled to the trees. I know advertising will always be with us, but there’s something doubly offensive about seeing ads on public property such as buses.
Perhaps the revenue could be made up by Gridlock Greg - he could get some tattoos that would be visible at press conferences and photo-ops, which could probably bring in $700K pretty easily.