MTA Busing In Digital Ad Future

Commercials for commuters and communities. That’s what the MTA is testing in Manhattan with huge digital screens on the sides of buses on the M23 route. If they're pleased with the results, screens will be installed on at least 200 buses early next year. Titan Worldwide has a 10-year contract with NYC for this advertising. Using GPS technology, they transmit different ads based on each bus' location. In this way, they target ads to a specific market which should deliver better results for the advertiser. The screens may also be used to broadcast news bulletins or "missing child" alerts. Outdoor advertising is undergoing a digital transformation. The MTA is looking to boost passenger fares with more advertising. This year, their advertising revenue is expected to hit $125 million. In an effort to make more and more money, expect to see ads in more and more places. In our "captive consumer society," sellers will always look for innovative ways to bring ads to us, rather than wait for us to stumble across those ads. If money can be made working for the seller, expect the seller to have a vehicle (in this case a New York City bus) to get their message out to the public.

Good Guys Playing “Hide And Seek" With Bad Guys

GPS tracking devices are being used by the NYPD to fight crime. One device that they employ is a $439 LiveWire GPS system. It’s a transmitting device about the size of a deck of tarot cards. This device transmits a car’s location every five seconds relaying the vehicle's location, speed and direction. Cops simply plant these devices in the suspects’ vehicles, receive vital information from them and make their arrests at the appropriate time. Police say they have been using devices like these in just this manner for years. Cops have not always bothered obtaining a search warrant for this electronic cop, though. They claim they’re not using it to catch suspects; only to monitor their movements. In other words, it’s like high-tech tailing. That argument is now being challenged in court. It’s suspected that the good guys are going to win this legal battle.

Big Apple Bus-Busters Are A Bust

There are times when getting stuck in a bus might be a good thing. That’s what Homeland Security and some officials here in New York City think anyway. What they're planning for is to reduce the threat of a hostile takeover of a bus by terrorists. They intend to combat terrorists with technology. Here’s how their device works. In the event of trouble, the bus driver hits a panic switch which alerts both the bus company and the device’s manufacturer in Pennsylvania. A device connected to the bus’s computer system automatically relays details about the bus’ location, speed and direction. The dispatcher notifies authorities. Then, they have the option to slow the bus to 5 miles per hour or to turn the engine off without the ability to restart it. Great idea, right? Many private bus companies have already received millions of dollars to install this new, high-tech gadget. Many have. However, NYC Transit is still testing GPS on 155 of their 4,500 bus fleet. They’ve yet to install any of these potentially disaster-saving devices. I guess Transit officials there aren’t too concerned about a terror attack in New York City. Perhaps they were out of town on a bus trip the morning of 9/11. Maybe they haven’t gotten the news headlines from that day yet. High-tech security in buses requires vision. Some had vision of sorts in the 1930's (see picture below). Some have it now. Others don't. Let’s speed things up, Transit guys!