After wrapping its buses with advertisements, the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) is now looking to turn even its passenger tickets into advertising space. The BMTC plans to display advertisements on the back side of ETM ticket rolls used across its fleet.

The BMTC has invited bids from advertising agencies for granting licence rights to print advertisements on Electronic Ticketing Machine (ETM) thermal rolls issued to passengers across Bengaluru. The move is aimed at generating additional non-fare revenue for the cash-strapped transport corporation, which operates nearly 7,000 buses and carries around 45 lakh passengers daily.

According to the BMTC officials, the strong response to advertisements wrapped on its buses has significantly strengthened the corporation’s non-fare revenue stream. The advertisements displayed on the BMTC buses are currently generating around ₹4.79 crore every month, translating to an annual revenue of nearly ₹57.54 crore.

BMTC’s target

The officials said that the corporation expects this figure to rise substantially and has projected overall advertisement revenue to touch nearly ₹230 crore over the next three to four years. Encouraged by this growth, the BMTC is now exploring additional advertising avenues within its services, including displaying advertisements on passenger tickets, official added.

“The selected advertising agency will have the rights to provide advertisement artwork that will be printed on the reverse side of the BMTC tickets through its authorised ETM roll supplier. The contract period will initially be for one year, and can be extended by another year based on performance,” official told The Hindu.

Thermal rolls

The BMTC currently consumes around 72 lakh ETM thermal rolls annually and nearly six lakh rolls every month, with each roll printing approximately 3,750 tickets. The officials believe this gives advertisers access to one of the largest commuter networks in the city.

The tender comes at a time when the BMTC has already been aggressively monetising its assets through advertisements on buses, bus shelters, depots and transit hubs. “With this latest move, even the small paper ticket issued to commuters could become an advertising medium for brands, government campaigns and commercial promotions. Under the proposed system, the advertising agency will have to quote a monthly licence fee payable to the BMTC while separately bearing the printing costs of the advertisements. The actual printing of advertisements will continue to be handled by the BMTC’s authorised ETM roll supplier,” the official added.

Restrictions

The corporation has, however, imposed several restrictions on the nature of advertisements that can appear on the tickets. Advertisements related to tobacco, liquor, narcotics, political campaigns, religious content and obscene material have been prohibited. The BMTC has also reserved the right to reject any advertisement deemed objectionable or against public interest.

The BMTC has reserved 10% of the ticket rolls for its own advertisements or government campaigns, for which the selected advertising agency cannot claim any revenue.