Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Streetsblog

Stand Clear of the Doors — It’s Time for a Big Mac!

How much exposure to advertising should fare-paying transit users be expected to tolerate? Is a relatively minor fiscal benefit worth slapping ads on every bus, bus stop, subway platform and train car? Where does it end?

false

These questions are on the mind of Ben Kabak at Second Avenue Sagas, in light of an Atlantic Cities report on the latest thing in transit ads. In a small number of systems in the U.S., Kabak says, advertisers are testing the airwaves with audio commercials targeted at bus riders. Writes Kabak:

Audio ads in transit systems are part of a natural progression as transit agencies seek to squeeze every dollar out of every possible outlet. These ads too aren’t just stock spots. The company selling them has implemented a GPS-based technology that allows ads targeted to specific routes and destinations to play as buses near those locales. Currently, riders in 11 metro areas -- but not, obviously, New York -- are subject to these ads, but some transit agencies are hesitant to embrace them for fear of irking riders.

"Riders can always wear headphones," writes Atlantic Cities' Eric Jaffe, "and audio campaigns might even prompt transit agencies to fix their habitually busted speaker systems."

Kabak is not as sanguine. For a system like that of Champaign, Illinois, he writes, "Money from audio ads won’t avert any sort of fare hike should one be necessary. Play enough audio messages, though, and riders feel harassed by them."

Elsewhere on the Network today: Green Lane Project Blog has compiled a field guide to North American bike lanes. Transit Miami finds debris from a car crash littering a Biscayne Boulevard sidewalk nearly two weeks later. And Bike Portland talks to Elly Blue about her new book, "Bikenomics."

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

‘Blood On His Hands’: Cyclists Slam Eric Adams After Judge Lets Him Remove Brooklyn Bike Lane

Mayor Adams will have “blood on his hands” for his decision to rip up three blocks of the popular protected bike lane.

July 10, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines: Fourth of July Hangover Edition

That Fourth of July lasts longer for some than others. Plus more news.

July 10, 2025

Brooklyn Judge Lets Eric Adams Rip Up Bedford Avenue Protected Bike Lane

The mayor's move to rip up the bike lane did not require advanced notification, Judge Carolyn Walker-Diallo ruled.

Universal Daylighting Has Majority Support on the City Council — Will Speaker Adams Give It a Vote?

Adrienne Adams is sitting on a landmark daylighting bill that could make every intersection safer for pedestrians.

July 9, 2025

‘Anti-Car Crusade’: Dinowitzes Slam Bronx Harlem River Greenway Bike Lane Touted by Mayor

The father-son duo are throwing a tantrum over the first leg of Mayor Adams's Harlem River Greenway.

July 8, 2025
See all posts