01-12-2015, 01:16 AM
(01-11-2015, 10:39 PM)BuildingScout Wrote: Any one has an idea how much money are we talking about here? Are ads a few percent of overal revenue or is it more significant than that?
Also if the choices are to cut a route or put ads, which one do you prefer?
It's a few percent of overall revenue. In 2013, GRT brought in less than $800K of ads, versus nearly $30M of fares (see the 2014 budget book.) It is appalling that the experience of the people paying those $30M is treated as inconsequential when it comes to getting a few bucks from bus wraps. But beyond that, it doesn't make business sense - a large and growing portion of fare-paying ridership is there by choice. That's the whole point of the Region's plans for reurbanization, rapid transit, etc. - getting more people to take transit. And getting a small amount of revenue from making the transit experience much worse is counterproductive, both to the ridership growth goals as well as to the fare revenue.