Wrap it up, you'll take it: GRT looks into all-over ads for ION vehicles

In an effort to bring additional revenue dollars, Grand River Transit wants to expand wrapped advertising on more buses and on the ION train, but regional councillors want to see community input.

Doug Spooner, Director of transportation with GRT, said expanding advertising on its fleet and the ION will help offset growing cost of operating transit. Regional council approved $240 million for transit for the 2023 budget and $191 million for the 2022 budget.

"There's three main ways for us to fund transit. We can do it through fares at the fare box, we can do it through property taxes and we can do it through other means like advertising," Spooner told CBC News.

"The cost of running transit is always increasing, and we're looking for ways to offset those increased costs, like service expansion and fuel."

GRT currently has five fully wrapped buses, which means a poster encases most of the vehicle on the outside. The agency wants to expand that to 10 per cent of its fleet, which is about 27 buses, Spooner said.

GRT also wants to add one ION train and is exploring the possibility of adding digital shelter ads, according to a report that was brought before the Planning and Works committee on Tuesday.

Advertising revenue for 2024 is projected to bring in $1.7 million and with the added advertising on buses and the ION, revenue jumps to $2.2 million.

That additional revenue gets put back into the system to improve transit without affecting fare rates or the tax levy, according to the report.

"Any additional revenue that comes in, we turn that back into hours of service on the road, so increasing service in the mid-day, evening and weekends, or frequency on the major routes," Spooner said.

He added the additional revenue would also allow for more community initiatives like the GRT Pride bus or the orange bus for National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.

Community pushback

The idea of having more wrapped advertising on buses and on the ION was met with community pushback. Michael Druker from Kitchener delegated at the meeting, asking councillors not to support the motion.

"The experience inside a bus or train with windows covered with these ads is much worse to most people," he said.

"It's darker. It's harder to enjoy the view outside. It's harder to see where you are, especially at night or in the rain. Some people find it nauseating. Do we want to make riding transit a good experience or a bad experience?"

Similar sentiments were seen online. Many took to the social media platform X to say they do not want to see advertising on the ION and expressed concern with having the windows covered. 

Some regional councillors also don't want to see advertising on the ION.

"For me personally the ION is just a very, very significant brand for Waterloo Region and I think many municipalities envy the fact that we have it here. I think by putting any kind of advertising on it we diminish that brand," Coun. Jim Erb said.

"I would rather see us be able to maintain the appearance of it as a sleek and modern, environmentally friendly kind of a transportation mode and in no way diminish the goodwill that it has created for our community."

Amendments to the motion

Discussion about having community input on the matter was brought up during Tuesday's meeting by Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic who brought an amendment forward to have the matter be part of 2024 budget consultations with the community. 

"It may be beneficial to actually A, hear from people, but B, look at it in the context of trying to come up with an affordable budget that also invests in key areas," he said.

Coun. Deutschmann also brought several amendments forward to keep local initiative campaign wraps separate from the limit of commercial wraps and to identify a funding sources for those initiatives, as well as to keep the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation wrap to the end of February 2024. 

Regional council voted in favour of the amendments. The decision will be ratified at a regional council meeting on Oct. 25.