Sims proposes bringing back bus-wrap ads

Metro is in such dire financial straits, King County Executive Ron Sims has proposed a 50-cent increase in fares.

But Metro is passing up at least $700,000 a year because of a 2006 budget item that prevents Metro from wrapping its buses with advertising.

Metro had wrapped buses in its fleet since 1997, said Sharron Shinbo, who handles Metro's advertising. In 2006, she said, Metro's fully wrapped buses generated $754,000, even though fewer than 2 percent of Metro's fleet of 1,300 buses were wrapped.

In November of that year, however, the Metropolitan King County Council adopted its 2007 budget with the proviso that Metro stop wrapping its buses because of passenger complaints that it was hard to see out of the windows.

At the time, there were signed contracts for 25 wraps on buses, and Metro had made $558,000 that year on them.

Sims now proposes that the council allow partial-wrap ads that would leave a 15-inch band of glass unobstructed. "If that provision is repealed, Metro would like to sell a limited number of partial-wrap buses," Shinbo said.

She said Metro estimates it would make $275,000 in 2009 and $408,000 in 2010 with 25 partial-wrap buses.

The council has yet to take up the issue, and Councilman Bob Ferguson, a bus commuter who strongly opposes any wrap that would cover windows, said it may be considered as part of the 2009 budget.

He added he would support wrapping bus windows when county executives agreed to wrap their office windows.

Ferguson said there's nothing to stop Metro from wrapping its buses with ads, as long as the windows aren't covered. He also said he's encouraged advertising on bus shelters and in the downtown bus tunnel.

Kevin Desmond, Metro's general manager, said Metro considered selling advertising wraps that didn't cover the windows, but he said they were hard to sell because so little space would be available. Metro was able to sell ads on just one bus. He did say Metro is looking at bus-tunnel ads.

"The only reason we brought this back was because of our financial crisis," said Desmond. "They generate a lot of revenue, and we think our compromise proposal meets the most significant elements of public complaints."

Shinbo also said that Metro's accessible-services advisory committee, which includes people who are visually impaired, supports the partially wrapped buses.

Sims announced last week that he wants a 50-cent fare increase — in two steps, Nov. 1 and Jan. 1 — to help with a growing Metro deficit. He's also proposed selling property Metro owns in downtown Bellevue, permanently idling the waterfront streetcar and cutting back on other Metro projects.

The revelation of Metro's money shortage comes as county buses are attracting a record 400,000 riders per weekday, a 7 percent increase from a year ago.

Metro's problems are fueled by a spike in diesel prices and, most important, a sharp reduction in sales-tax revenue. Metro's two-year, $1.1 billion operating budget is funded mainly by a sales tax of 0.9 percent, or 9 cents per $10 purchase.

Metro normally projects a 5.65 percent annual growth in sales-tax revenue, but because of the troubled economy it is actually collecting less money than a year ago.

While wrapping buses would bring in just a fraction of the money needed to erase the deficit, Shinbo said, anything helps.

Community Transit had allowed bus wraps but discontinued them three years ago. Spokesman Martin Munguia said his agency is taking another look because of its financial situation. He said Community Transit expects it could make $48,000 a year for each bus it wraps.

Sound Transit has 20 buses with full wraps, about 16 percent of the fleet. In July, Sound Transit made about $64,000 with its wrapped buses, about half of the agency's advertising revenue that month. Sound Transit said it plans to change things next year so wraps will not cover all the windows.

Pierce Transit wraps 7 of its 195 buses and made $43,000 last year per bus. Everett Transit wraps fewer than 1 percent of its fleet and makes about $40,000 per bus in a year.

Susan Gilmore: 206-464-2054 or sgilmore@seattletimes.com