4 ms·

The "subscribed" buses will be privately owned and operated, they'll be increasingly filled with advertising and other predatory bullshit for exploiting the pas

The "subscribed" buses will be privately owned and operated, they'll be increasingly filled with advertising and other predatory bullshit for exploiting the passengers.

krasin 5y ago
Don't forget a snack machine with sweets right inside the bus.
- tentacleuno 5y ago
  Or... A cold drinks machine, with all the bus windows locked shut. I'm sure I remember something about McDonalds putting more salt in the chips [/ food] so people buy a drink.
Nasrudith 5y ago
So like city buses?
- arcticbull 5y ago
  Not really, no. City busses recognize revenue from advertising and use it to subsidize fares. Being a public service, the public benefits. On the other hand, private bus fleets with private advertisements on loan to school districts will recognize that advertising revenue as profit, benefiting shareholders. Not everything needs a profit motive.
  - roughly 5y ago
    I don't know what the split is elsewhere, but it's worth noting that for BART in the Bay Area, at least, makes something like $10m/yr, compared to nearly $500m/yr in actual fares - so, in exchange for approximately 2% of annual revenues, we get BART trains and stations covered in ads. Edit: Thought to look this up for SFMTA - 2020 proposed budget (projections as of 2019, chosen because it's the last "normal" year) - total revenue $1.2Bn, "Advertising, interest, and service fees" $54m.
woodruffw 5y ago
I think that's pretty unlikely, at least with schoolbuses. The US has laws around child privacy and advertising that companies easily flaunt online, but are much more difficult to flaunt when your product is a physical bus. OTOH, I would not be surprised to see these buses rusting in a storage lot within a decade because these firms have closed up shop and some random server somewhere is no longer responding to requests. I hope (but am not hopeful) that municipal and state governments take measures during procurement to ensure that they aren't being turned into captive customers.
- AdamN 5y ago
  Captivate screens behind each seat with 'educational' content and pre-roll/banner ads. "We're giving kids extra education through new technology and they also learn about the value of chocolate sugar milk at the same time!"
- Johnny555 5y ago
  The average lifetime of a schoolbus is 10 - 12 years, so if they do manage to keep this service going for a decade, that's pretty good -- in 10 years the schol district would have been ready to refresh their fleet anyway, and hopefully the reason this business can't survive long-term is that electric buses become cheaper and ubiquitous.
  - adgjlsfhk1 5y ago
    Part of the reason for the 10-12 year lifespan is that ICE motors are really complicated and at a certain point, it's cheaper to throw out the bus than pay for motor repairs. EV motors last a lot longer and are a lot easier to maintain.
    - akomtu 5y ago
      Are batteries going to last this long? And batteries are usually 50% of the vehicle price.
      - 5y ago
elliekelly 5y ago
“You’re only two bus rides away from your next Robux reward!”
AlgorithmicTime 5y ago
Literally all the school buses in my area are operated by private companies which contract with the local public school districts. None of them are full of advertising.
gruez 5y ago
>they'll be increasingly filled with advertising and other predatory bullshit for exploiting the passengers What's this based on ? AFAIK many school districts already contract out their school bus service. Are we seeing that in those cases?
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

The "subscribed" buses will be privately owned and operated, they'll be increasingly filled with advertising and other predatory bullshit for exploiting the passengers.

krasin 5y ago

Don't forget a snack machine with sweets right inside the bus.

tentacleuno 5y ago
Or... A cold drinks machine, with all the bus windows locked shut. I'm sure I remember something about McDonalds putting more salt in the chips [/ food] so people buy a drink.

Nasrudith 5y ago

So like city buses?

arcticbull 5y ago
Not really, no. City busses recognize revenue from advertising and use it to subsidize fares. Being a public service, the public benefits. On the other hand, private bus fleets with private advertisements on loan to school districts will recognize that advertising revenue as profit, benefiting shareholders. Not everything needs a profit motive.
- roughly 5y ago
  I don't know what the split is elsewhere, but it's worth noting that for BART in the Bay Area, at least, makes something like $10m/yr, compared to nearly $500m/yr in actual fares - so, in exchange for approximately 2% of annual revenues, we get BART trains and stations covered in ads. Edit: Thought to look this up for SFMTA - 2020 proposed budget (projections as of 2019, chosen because it's the last "normal" year) - total revenue $1.2Bn, "Advertising, interest, and service fees" $54m.

woodruffw 5y ago

I think that's pretty unlikely, at least with schoolbuses. The US has laws around child privacy and advertising that companies easily flaunt online, but are much more difficult to flaunt when your product is a physical bus. OTOH, I would not be surprised to see these buses rusting in a storage lot within a decade because these firms have closed up shop and some random server somewhere is no longer responding to requests. I hope (but am not hopeful) that municipal and state governments take measures during procurement to ensure that they aren't being turned into captive customers.

AdamN 5y ago
Captivate screens behind each seat with 'educational' content and pre-roll/banner ads. "We're giving kids extra education through new technology and they also learn about the value of chocolate sugar milk at the same time!"
Johnny555 5y ago
The average lifetime of a schoolbus is 10 - 12 years, so if they do manage to keep this service going for a decade, that's pretty good -- in 10 years the schol district would have been ready to refresh their fleet anyway, and hopefully the reason this business can't survive long-term is that electric buses become cheaper and ubiquitous.
- adgjlsfhk1 5y ago
  Part of the reason for the 10-12 year lifespan is that ICE motors are really complicated and at a certain point, it's cheaper to throw out the bus than pay for motor repairs. EV motors last a lot longer and are a lot easier to maintain.
  - akomtu 5y ago
    Are batteries going to last this long? And batteries are usually 50% of the vehicle price.
    - 5y ago

elliekelly 5y ago

“You’re only two bus rides away from your next Robux reward!”

AlgorithmicTime 5y ago

Literally all the school buses in my area are operated by private companies which contract with the local public school districts. None of them are full of advertising.

gruez 5y ago

>they'll be increasingly filled with advertising and other predatory bullshit for exploiting the passengers What's this based on ? AFAIK many school districts already contract out their school bus service. Are we seeing that in those cases?

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]