Earlier this month, TSO Mobile had the opportunity to showcase products at the APTA Bus & Paratransit Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. The event was sponsored by the American Public Transportation Association and hosted by the Fort Worth Transportation Authority as it invited all attendees to join in learning about the various vehicles and technology associated with providing public transportation. At its Bus Products and Services Showcase, TSO Mobile proudly staged and displayed our Onboard Advertising System technology, offering transit operators an additional opportunity for revenue generation.

As the demand for various public transportation options continues to increase in cities, ridership is growing. As more and more individuals decide to jump on trolleys, buses and rails in their cities, the audience sitting in these vehicles has expanded to become much more varied than that of years ago. We see groups of all ages, races, professions and incomes riding public transit to get where they need to go. With a growing passenger audience, the option of digital onboard advertising systems provides a significant revenue generation opportunity for transit companies everywhere.

Increasingly popular "Park-and-Ride" options have caused a wide range of business professionals, teachers, college students and many other types of workers to leave their vehicles in parking spaces and ride public transit vehicles to and from jobs. Digital onboard advertising tactics reaches all these passengers, demanding attention and allowing reception of messaging visually – no matter what other senses are being distracted, such as headphones affecting the ability to hear.

With highly effective and professional onboard advertising, HD multimedia display technology placed onboard has the ability to easily reach both drivers and passengers riding public transit, using screens to comprehensively show campaigns and real-time notices. The system combines audio, video, TV images, pictures, animation, texts, documents, websites, streaming media and database data into different features and then releases the finished programs via a uniform network to
media display terminals everywhere. The images and real-time information are then systematically and perfectly displayed in front of the seated audience at designated locations.

While onboard advertising can serve as a dominant use of onboard digital space, these systems placed onto vehicles can be used for more than simply promotional methods. Onboard displays have the ability broadcast multiple notifications to travelers in real-time and display announcement information all while remaining centrally controlled with scheduled messaging. With the ability to inform and engage passengers, digital advertising allows transportation facilities to efficiently connect with their commuters, whether at stations where they sit and wait or while riding vehicles daily.

Some prospects these systems are capable of, once implemented, include the capacity and technology to become an information source to tourist riders, offering informational material about surrounding areas based on vehicle movement via geofencing techniques; tell stories and facts about given subjects automatically; create infomercials; and provide vehicle updates and status in real-time. With installed onboard advertising systems, technology can then be manipulated to perform customized tasks to fit the needs of any transit operation.

Digital placement of information onto transit vehicles offers an amazing opportunity to transportation operators in any field to make profitable use of fleet vehicles' onboard space by subsidizing operations with advertisements. TSO Mobile provides you the hardware and technology needed to make it easy for you to take advantage of building relationships with businesses in your local area by creating a unique opportunity to benefit everyone.

Image credits: APTA Bus & Paratransit Conference (www.apta.com)