By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer
CARRBORO – As Chapel Hill Transit faces an increasingly stretched budget, the Carrboro Board of Aldermen on Tuesday expressed support for a bus advertising program as a way to diversify revenues.
“This is a concept that’s been discussed, at least in Chapel Hill, several times over the past decade,†Chapel Hill transportation director Steve Spade said. “We bring it up again now because of some of our budget issues in the changing economic climate.â€
With rising fuel costs, the economic downturn and increased maintenance costs, the budget picture for CHT has become increasingly bleak, Spade said.
“Every time the price of fuel changes a penny, it’s $7,000 in our budget,†he said.
Spade presented to the board the 2011-12 Chapel Hill Transit budget, which includes about $900,000 in potential savings through the elimination of service for certain trips and routes. The savings could help close a $2.3 million budget gap for CHT. CHT’s $17.7 million expenses are shared by Carrboro, Chapel Hill and UNC and partially funded through federal and state revenues and miscellaneous grants.
According to CHT projections, the potential service reductions could affect more than 1,000 riders a day, including 68 patrons of EZ Rider, CHT’s paratransit program that provides shared-ride transportation for disabled individuals.
CHT has held several public-input sessions regarding the proposed service reductions, and Spade said in a Wednesday interview that staff has received numerous comments from concerned residents regarding reductions to the G route, which runs from UNC out N.C. 54, through Glen Lennox, to the University Mall and then to the Briarcliff neighborhood. Proposed reductions include eliminating service beyond Glen Lennox, which has drawn concern from about 70 residents, Spade said.
According to Spade, CHT could potentially raise more than $500,000 annually with ad signs on its entire fleet and ad wraps on 15 buses. Under the advertising plan developed by CHT, certain kinds of advertising – such as ads for alcohol and beer – would be prohibited.
Board member Jacquie Gist said that while she was in favor of placing certain limitations on advertising, she was concerned about limiting issue advertising.
“My concern is how easy that would be to get politicized,†she said.
Board member Dan Coleman expressed interest in considering the social responsibility of companies interested in advertising, and board member Sammy Slade suggested limiting advertising to local businesses.
“As we take a look at the revenues needed and the opportunities, I don’t think that limiting our sales to local businesses only would make this an economically viable program,†Spade said, adding that staff could emphasize the program to local businesses.
Spade said transit staff is also considering giving each transit partner – Carrboro, Chapel Hill and UNC – use of a bus wrap for a year to promote town programs, issues or local businesses.
Overall, board members said they support the program as a way for CHT to diversify revenues and reduce potential service reductions.
“Everybody’s in a very constrained economic climate, and there are positives in [the program],†board member Joal Hall Broun said.
Chapel Hill Town Council members have already said they would like to further investigate bus advertising as a way to collect additional revenue and stave off service reductions, and Spade said Tuesday UNC officials are on board as well.
The council is scheduled to make a decision regarding the CHT budget, including proposed service reductions and the advertising program, at its meeting on Monday.
I’d be the first to convince my boss to put advertising on the local buses. Foster local growth while diminishing our tax contributions? I’d be amazed if anyone -could- be against that.
How much would charging a quarter, $.50 or a dollar a ride add to the bottom line? I’m not necessarily opposed to free buses, but it seems a small fee would raise a lot of revenue while reducing ridership but a negligible amount. (ie how many people are gonna choose a car instead of a bus over a quarter or 50 cents a ride?)
Why not just sell the transit system to private investors instead of charging every resident of the towns for these services? I know someone out there can make money instead of losing it providing service transporting people from point A to point B. With unlimited potential customers for advertising to such an impressionable market I could probably make it profitable while maintaining no charge for riding, and I’d have the added benefit of being able to eliminate lines that have virtually no ridership.
Of course, I’d advertise alcohol, because those would be the advertisers willing to pay the most in this town. It’s absolutely ridiculous the town would consider prohibiting alcohol advertisements. Shows how dumb these politicians really are.