Multi-million pound contract from bus shelter advertising.
Advertising on bus shelters across the West Midlands is set to net more than £15 million income over the next five years – to plough straight back into public transport.
Transport for West Midlands, the transport arm of the West Midlands Combined Authority has awarded the contract to advertising giant Clear Channel. Revenue goes back into the network to help pay for the upkeep of vital infrastructure including bus stations and shelters.
As part of the new contract Clear Channel will pay a fixed fee each year for the exclusive sales rights to advertising panels on a third of shelters throughout the West Midlands. The new contract, which goes live on July 1st, will see the number of digital advertising screens at bus shelters across the region increased to 300 over the next five years.
Cllr Roger Lawrence, transport lead for the West Midlands, said: “This is important income for TfWM, which we can reinvest in better services for the benefit of passengers. A notable example is that this money has funded a lot of our highly successful Safer Travel work – which has seen a fall of 70 per cent in crime on public transport over the last eight years.”
Pete Bond, TfWM’s director of transport services, added: “We are very much looking forward to working with Clear Channel. Their bid gave us confidence in their ability to successfully market our bus shelter advertising estate and their intention to further invest in maximising digital advertising potential.”
Dave Huckerby is Clear Channel’s development director for Adshel, the brand used to sell the advertising seen at tens of thousands of bus shelters across the UK. He said: “We’re delighted to be working with TfWM to continue to deliver outstanding advertising opportunities across the West Midlands. This new contract will see us digitise hundreds of advertising panels across the region, expanding our digital Adshel Live network, while providing TfWM with revenue that can be re-invested directly into local services.”
TfWM has also awarded a new contract for facilities maintenance, cleaning and development work in all its buildings to Mitie.