DTC to allow ad display on low-floor buses

In a measure that will help the Delhi Transport Corporation to get more revenue, it has decided to allow display of advertisements on the rear of its low-floor buses.

Tenders for display of advertisements on its fleet will be invited in a day or two, said a senior DTC said on Monday.

“Advertisements will be allowed on the rear of low-floor buses and tender documents are almost ready,” said Sharat Kumar, senior manager (PR), DTC. The decision comes after long deliberations.

Revenue concerns
While revenue from fares has gone up over the last few years, the public sector transport corporation is still running into losses.

The DTC has been unsuccessfully lobbying with the state government to increase passenger fare — by increasing rates and by introducing new fare slabs.

But the transport agency has done little to exploit other sources of revenue, such as creating advertisement space on its buses and properties.

The DTC management has been pondering utilising advertisement space on low-floor buses ever since they were rolled out on the city roads in 2008. While the DTC has finally decided to allow advertisements on the rear of the buses, it still has to decide on allowing other spaces on the buses for display of advertisements.

On whether using the hand-grips hanging from the bus ceiling for advertisements — as done in Metro — was feasible, a senior DTC official said no decision has been taken on the idea yet.

The official, however, said this space can also become a major source of revenue.
While the DTC management has failed to take any decision on the issue, the hand-grips in the buses are being used for advertisements by some small-time marketing executives, who stick their cards or phone numbers on a piece of paper.
The DTC management has not taken any cue from it.