On May 14 we wrote a Bring to Orlando column that petitioned LYNX to consider bringing in a third party company to sell privately funded Smart bus shelters – because we deserve fancy things.
The following copy is from an email we received in response (or clap back) to our piece, which you can read in full, HERE.
“Some things for you to ponder…
The practice of jurisdictions and municipalities across the United States entering into long-term, revenue-sharing advertising agreements – which sometimes include the public transit infrastructure at bus stops and shelters – has been occurring since the 1990’s. These types of advertisements are known in the ad world as “out-of-home” advertisements.
These multi-year agreements are rarely entered into directly with transit agencies, as most transit agencies do not control the public space in which bus shelters and benches are located. LYNX has been a transit leader in revenue-advertising on transit buses since the 1990s. The good thing is we own a majority (not all) of our ad shelters and keep a nice piece of revenue. We do have a great contractor that sells shelters and buses for us. Right now we are oversold on our buses which is a blessing and a curse.
However, in our service area, many municipalities and jurisdictions have their own bus stop bench contracts with private companies who install and remove benches at LYNX bus stops.
In recent years, many of the smaller, private advertising companies who have entered into agreements with cities around the country have lost market share due to the dynamic signage, LED display and other options offered by large, national media company contracts. These larger companies also offer shelter and stop maintenance/cleaning as a provision of their contracts with jurisdictions.
We appreciate communities advocating for more amenities at transit stops in the region. LYNX will continue to work with its funding partner jurisdictions and local municipalities and their vendors to ensure that the shelters and stops complement their respective communities and meet all federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements.”
Thanks LYNX, we still think they’re a good idea though.
