Antelope Valley Transit Authority Small transit system 50 miles - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Antelope Valley Transit Authority  Small transit system 50 miles north of Los Angeles basin  Fleet of 75 buses and 3.6 million boardings annually  1,200 square mile service area

Digital Bus Advertising The Concept  Ad agency wanted to attract national advertisers  Plan was to sell digital ad as a compliment to a full bus wrap  Estimated revenue -$15,000 per month

Wooing National Advertisers

Digital Bus Advertising The Investment  Illuminated sign cost $50,000  Plan was to recoup investment in one year  Sign is estimated to have a ten year life  5-year warranty

California State Law  Illegal to have illuminated advertising signs on buses except for headway signs  State legislation was passed allowing AVTA to install 20 digital signs through 2020

Program’s Legislative Intent?  Purpose: Evaluate the impact of digital bus signs on traffic and pedestrian safety  Reporting: AVTA required to provide a report on traffic impact at end of pilot

Legislative Hurdles  UC Irvine pilot program allowed 12 digital signs  AVTA pilot hinged on UC Irvine’s progress.  Legislators opposed to the project argued only one pilot program was needed

Procurement  Sole source contract with MultimediaLED  AVTA agreed to purchase sign after ad agency secured a 12- month advertising contract  Client insisted on being first  UC Irvine was close to unveiling its digital bus sign

Digital Sign Specifications  The digital sign is 12’ x 2’- a standard king banner size with dynamic messaging  The LED sign is available in 8mm or 10mm resolution with a 160 degree viewing angle  Permits full motion video and animation  LED illumination is extremely bright

Installation Challenges  AVTA installed sign on an MCI commuter coach  Important to ensure flat adherence to minimize vibrations and maximize air cooling  The digital sign runs completely off the bus’ power

Unveiling Ceremony  AVTA sign unveiling ceremony took place April 6  Strongly attended by elected officials and supported by CHP  Excellent press coverage

Operational Challenges  It’s illegal for the sign to page or video to play while on the freeway  Digital signs cannot scroll on the freeway so GPS tracking is essential  Bus operator pre-checks crashing the system

Smooth Sailing Since July  We have budgeted funds to purchase three additional signs  Now considering a second digital sign for our local transit fleet  No accidents to report at this time

Actual Revenue VS Expenses  Year to date revenue is $68,000  AVTA has recouped $30,600 of its $50,000 investment  Not likely to recoup investment in first year

Digital Bus Advertising