HART Offers Innovative Way for Local Businesses to Advertise on Buses at Specific Stops

HART continues to set the transit agency bar higher as a trendsetting innovator by providing unique ways for local Tampa area businesses to reach out to specific customers.

Now, area businesses can buy HART digital media advertisements based on the specific stops they wish to target. They can easily go online, view a map of HART, add one or multiple stops to a shopping cart, check out and Commuter Advertising will upload their media to play onboard HART buses at the purchased stop(s).

Commuter Advertising, which contracts with HART to provide digital onboard media, recently acquired the mobile technology company CommuteStream, expanding the nation's first online transit media marketplace. That enabled Commuter Advertising to offer local businesses digital audio and visual LED text scroll commercials onboard HART buses. The media sales are split with HART to help keep fares low and maintain service levels.

The GPS-enabled advertising technology is already successfully used in nine other cities across the USA, reaching more than 130 million riders. The contract with Commuter Advertising is estimated to deliver in excess of $460,000 in additional revenue to HART over a five-year period. HART will continue to use the system for public service announcements about changes to bus routes or schedules and to build and strengthen relationships with businesses located in and around bus stops.

Advertisers can set daily spending limits to match advertising campaign needs with convenient monthly billing. Then they can send ads to the right customers at the right time with a marketing system that targets specific stops in particular neighborhoods.

"HART prides itself in demonstrating outstanding financial stewardship while investing wisely in creative opportunities to generate the most return on strategic investment of taxpayer dollar," said HART CEO Katharine Eagan. "The new partnership opportunity with Commuter Advertising represents a new revenue source for HART while connecting our customers with local businesses. We're excited about the opportunities the new online platform can create and look forward to the revenue solutions it generates."

"Transit authorities are faced with financial uncertainty, yet ridership is at record highs," said Commuter Advertising founder and CEO Russ Gottesman. "Commuter Advertising continues to develop solutions that address the untapped value in transit for the benefit of all involved. Joining forces with CommuteStream strengthens our place as the leader in bringing innovative transit media ideas to market."

The newest HART innovation comes hot on the heels of last year's advertising program that uses the existing annunciation system on buses to broadcast 10-15 second messages.