We hop down rabbit trails when we get hung up on lines like “we don’t need to be protected from ourselves”. That is not the real problem. We have trouble as a society with self-control, largely because we have been indoctrinated with a special compound of self-indulgence & consumerism made possible by cheap energy. It seems off topic to say this until we get basic understanding that electricity (from whatever source) and petroleum have given us lots of spare time. That is about to change, ladies & gentlemen & undecideds.

The reason we lower our standards for advertising is not a good one; generally, passenger rail & bus transit is too damn underfunded to be a good travel mode for families. A viscious cycle, a downward spiral, say it a number of ways. Soon, we really MUST come to an understanding as a nation about what is important to survive as a viable society. If energy is the root of war, as it demonstrably has been since World War One, then we are tragically overdue in acknowledging that this is so. And make some connections with our spending choices & habits, the cause and effects on foreign policy regardless of which party is in office.

If the discussion shifts from what should be banned to actually prioritizing ads by message & content, then we are on a firm foundation both constitutionally and regarding national goals & imperatives. Ads seen in a WWII streetcar or bus or train were heavily weighted to fuel conservation, advice on how to buy defense bonds, and the rest of the space was local food products, stores and businesses; emphasis on necessities, few vanity ads. Analyse that carefully, please. Let’s see what fits now- is we is, or is we ain’t, entering an era of energy conservation and dire need of changing our transportation methodology?

Accepting ads against our better judgement (read consciences)? Nothing could speak more clearly to APTA and each and every savvy transit executive & line employee -of the need to bring this country’s leadership, public, corporate and civic organization & chambers of commerce, to full cognitive awareness of imminent transportation emergency. Freedom of expression, you dig? Once this movement to transport energy awareness is under way, ads from FEMA, the US Treasury (Energy Independence Bonds), along with the bread & butter local brick & mortar firms, begging for marginal advertisers won’t be an issue.

On the money matter, we sell our souls for chump change in the big picture. Brown would not want to have FedEx on the side of their trucks and I have yet to see an American Airlines plane decked out to look like Southwest Airlines. Here in Kenosha, when we had the debate, one of the persons that questioned my on this was an offical at Snap-on-Tools. I asked why they closed a plant instead of asking Mac Tools to advertise on their trucks. Case closed. We are the only folks who have routinely sold our souls for a few bucks because someone won’t just fund the system adequately. Now we do it with our stadiums rather than having the pride to do it right and then fund it, and then name it after the team or City. We have made the tax word so “bad” that we make horrible policy decisions daily these days rather than the investments our communities sorely need. Especially in the area of public transit. Only country in world with a single mode dependency locally and single mode dependency between cities.

Just my thoughts on this one.

Having the responsibility for controlling the content of advertising to the general public is an awesome challenge! At the Detroit People Mover, common sense prevails. No tobacco or alcoholic beverage ads are permitted due to our proximity to churches, per City zoning ordinances. Likewise, we will not allow provocative (lots of flesh) advertising in, on or around our trains. That does not mean however, that a bar or lounge that features scantilly clad women dancers can’t advertiser with us — as long as they don’t show the merchandise or reference nudity, etc. in their ad copy. Until public funding of transit stops, and systems are self sufficient from ridership revenues alone (yeah - right), the need for advertising revenue will continue and (hopefully) flourish.

Many of the films advertised on vehicles and in shelters are also for mature audiences. Moving beyond the video game example, does that mean that movie ads could also be subject to the same scrutiny?