Japanese transit agencies receive 4.0% of their revenues from advertising, while those in the U.S. receive just 0.4%.

Transit Innovations: A look at interactive marketing in Japanese transit

Raising revenues for transit agencies has become increasingly challenging in these tough economic times.  Approximately 80 percent of transit agencies in the U.S. have experienced flat or decreased funding from local, regional and state authorities, even though when gas prices reached a record high, public transit reached a record number - 2.7 billion rides – of riders.  Almost 90 percent of U.S. transit agencies have had to raise fares or cut service – including CTA, Pace and Metra.

Transit agencies have become more creative about ways to raise revenues to narrow their budget gaps, including transit advertising. Of the $230 billion spent on marketing and advertisements nationwide, only $1 billion of all media was spent on transit advertising.  Record ridership on public transportation provides an immediate audience for companies to showcase their products and services to daily commuters.

Buses carry the messages of companies as they travel through the miles of roadways in communities and neighborhoods across America. Waiting passengers at stations gaze at billboards or wrapped trains. While these are some of the traditional ways to advertise on transit, Tokyo, Japan is leading the way on providing new and innovative marketing strategies on their transit system.  The furnishing company IKEA transformed the Kobe Port Liner Loop train interiors by replacing shades with their own line and converting seats to sofas.  Canon mounted goodie bags that passengers could take at Shibuya station revealing the advertisement hidden underneath.  Mini advertisements were placed on the handrails of an escalator at Nogizaka station highlighting local restaurants and nearby attractions.

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) has set a goal to increase transit agencies’ share of overall advertising dollars spent in the U.S. to 1 percent. Such an increase would grow transit advertising revenue to nearly two and a half times its current size. The CTA has been looking at strategies to boost revenues from sources other than the farebox, and collected more than $27 million in advertising and concession revenues last year.  As budget shortfalls and revenues continue to strain the health of transit agencies’ funding, advertising on transit assets can be another piece of the overall solution.

 

For Additional Information:

• Challenge of State and Local Funding Constraints on Transit Systems: Effects on Service, Fares, Employment and Ridership- American Public Transportation Association
• Practical Measures to Increase Transit Advertising Revenues- Transit Cooperative Research Program
• Top 10 Ad-tricks in Tokyo’s Train Stations

NEWS

Local News

CTA Circle Line plan makes rounds – Chicago Tribune “Plans for the long-awaited Circle Line, which would link CTA and Metra rail lines in Chicago's growing central area, are a step closer to being realized after the Chicago Transit Authority completed its analysis of options for the project.”

CTA eyes $122M in cuts to help plug $300M gap – Crains “The Chicago Transit Authority is cutting 70 jobs, maintaining its salary freeze and adding furlough days, all part of its effort to close a $300-million budget hole.”

Illiana Expressway: Proposed interstate tollway would link Illinois, Indiana – Chicago Tribune “One hundred years after Daniel Burnham proposed an ‘outer encircling highway’ to bypass Chicago, a new study says that building a key segment -- an interstate linking Illinois and Indiana -- could significantly cut traffic congestion and boost the region's economy.”

CREATE freight rail fix makes headway – Crains “Another project to reduce rail congestion broke ground Monday, this time to add a third main line of track in the far south suburbs of Alsip and Blue Island.”

Wave of the future: mass transit – Chicago Sun-Times “With the threat of global warming and the world's oil supplies dwindling, local planning and transportation experts imagine a Chicago area in 2040 with more public transit; higher-density housing; electric cars, and more options for walking and biking.”

Pace contemplating service cuts, fare hikes – Daily Herald “Pace will hold hearings this month on proposals to slash or reduce service on more than 50 bus routes serving the suburbs and raise paratransit fares.”

CTA: New stop expected to open in 2011 in West Loop – Chicago Tribune “The new stop will be on the Green and Pink lines between the Clinton and Ashland stations, which are more than a mile apart.”

Eisenhower Expressway expansion project is the next big thing – Chicago Tribune “After promises for years that studies were in the works, preliminary engineering is finally under way for the Eisenhower Expressway expansion project, the next huge highway reconstruction planned for the Chicago area.”

World News

'Bus rapid transit' a commuter rail alternative – Capital Times “Because of the stiff competition for federal rail funding, however, bus advocates say bus rapid transit could be an effective complement or alternative to commuter rail in Dane County.”

Invasion of the pod car – Boston Globe “Advocates say these systems could help ease a multitude of problems: global warming, dependence on foreign oil, congestion, and diminishing available land.”

Diesel emissions down drastically at ports of L.A., Long Beach – Los Angeles Times “A program to cut diesel emissions at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach by phasing out older cargo trucks is far ahead of schedule, and already has delivered cleaner air to nearby neighborhoods that have been enveloped by fumes, the mayors of both cities said Thursday.”

Next Train in How Long? More Riders to Know Soon – New York Times “Digital displays that tell straphangers how many minutes until the next train arrives could be coming to the busiest subway lines in New York next year.”

Motorist Group Slams ‘Congestion Pricing’ – New York Times “The Eurocouncil of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, or F.I.A., said Friday that charging systems were an assault on individual rights, a threat to prosperity and ineffective at curbing traffic.”

France Backs Battery-Charging Network for Cars – Wall Street Journal “The French government Thursday said it plans to spend €1.5 billion (about $2.2 billion) on creating a battery-charging network for electric vehicles as part of a broader state plan to encourage the development of clean vehicle technology and battery manufacturing.”

Congestion Tax Boosts Alt-Fuel Vehicle Use – New York Times “In the 24-square kilometer congestion zone in Sweden’s capital, the number of registered alternative-fuel vehicles, which are exempt from congestion tolls, jumped to 14 percent of the total vehicle fleet in 2008 from five percent in 2006.”

Siemens Fills Russia’s Need for High-Speed Train – New York Times “This December, high-speed trains designed by the German conglomerate and adapted for Russian winters will ply the rails between St. Petersburg and Moscow.”

Resources

• The Fundamental Law of Road Congestion: Evidence from US cities – University of Toronto

• Analysis of traffic in Stockholm with special focus on the effects of the congestion tax, 2005–2008 – City of Stockholm Traffic Administration

• Metropolitan Planning Organizations: Options Exist to Enhance Transportation Planning Capacity and Federal Oversight – GAO
  
  

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Contact Information
For comments, suggestions or submissions, please contact Emily Tapia Lopez, Associate, at etapia@metroplanning.org or 312-863-6047.