Councils review bus stop ads contract

Councils in the Tees Valley may bring the management of bus shelter advertising in-house, with revenues used to fund bus stop information, and online information and marketing for public transport. The five councils currently have separate bus shelter advertising contracts with Clear Channel, which will all expire by August 2020. Two options are being studied: a new competitive tender, or councils taking the responsibility and risk for selling advertising space. Mark Wilson, the Tees Valley Combined Authority’s head of transport, told councillors that Blackburn with Darwen Council had taken the activities in-house, “providing the council with a steady revenue stream”.