BMTC aims to triple advertising revenue by using half its fleet

Bengaluru: The cash-strapped Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) aims to utilise nearly half its fleet to earn at least three times last year’s bus advertising revenue this year. 

Well-placed BMTC sources noted that the bus corporation is aiming at earning between Rs 4 crore and Rs 5.6 crore per month by utilising the external body space of 3,400 buses running in Bengaluru. This includes covering 400 Volvo AC buses (except the windows) apart from 3,000 ordinary, non-AC buses. Last year, the BMTC earned Rs 21.4 crore in total through placing ads on buses. 

BMTC officials confirmed that tenders are being finalised. In November 2024, the BMTC floated a short-term tender notification inviting bids for these full-wrap advertisements for 3,000 buses. Earlier, in August, the BMTC invited bids from agencies to cover 293 square feet of the back and side panels of 450 Volvo buses. 

“Last year, advertising was on an ad-hoc basis. We are regularising it this time and are looking at earning a regular estimated revenue over Rs 4 crore each month,” said a senior official in the know. 

The agency that is awarded the tender will hold the contract for a minimum of three years. This is likely to boost the non-fare revenue of the cash-strapped transport corporation, bringing in an estimated Rs 50 crore in addition to other sources of revenue. 

Apart from the exterior, a four-square foot space behind the driver’s seat inside the bus will also be up as advertising space. In total, about 450 square feet of space will be available in these buses to be covered by advertisements. 

“We have taken the permission of the RTO to have buses run with these advertisements. There was no demand for the whole fleet, no bidder came forward for it either. So, we stuck to at least half of the fleet this time,” the official added.