This is the text of the brochure that was distributed at the art show.

Click here to download a PDF version of this text

What’s wrong with ads?

The TTC has become saturated with advertising. What used to appear only on small rectangles inside buses, streetcars and subways has now been plastered on floors, walls, stairs and escalators. Entire streetcars and buses are wrapped in vinyl advertising and just recently the TTC introduced TV advertising into our subway stations.

Our TTC Commissioners have cheapened the ride and created a second class mode of transportation. Riders are reduced to a target market -- citizens treated like mere consumers. The ads are consistently patronising, obnoxious, void of any useful information, often sexist and promote a level of over-consumption that is literally killing the planet. In a city that speaks over 100 languages, the ads only appear in English, and almost exclusively show white faces, making the TTC very unToronto.

Imagine the possibilities of the alternatives! Imagine if riders were treated as human beings with intelligence and values and were provided with a TTC that was both beautiful and informative. Art, community announcements, messages from local non-profit groups, school projects, etc.

We’re bombarded with ads all day; on TV, on billboards, on the radio, in newspapers and magazines, in elevators, in washrooms, on our clothing, at gas pumps, on taxi wheels, garbage cans and park benches. Wouldn’t it be nice if the TTC had the guts, courage and vision to cut through this mess of corporate crap and actually increase the pleasure in our lives by giving us a few moments in our day that are unbranded?

The largest indoor art gallery in the world

The TTC operates at full capacity during the morning and afternoon rush hours. At other times our buses, streetcars and subways seem empty in comparison. Meanwhile, outside on the streets are thousands of tourists looking for something to do, something that defines toronto and would be enjoyable to experience.

What if they knew that Toronto was the only city in North America to take an entire transit system and transform it into something beyond a people-mover. What if these tourists could buy a day-pass and experience the largest indoor art gallery in the world?

At eight dollars for each day pass, it would only take 175,000 tourists to offset the full amount of lost advertising revenue. It’s not hard to imagine considering that Casa Loma attracts over 400,000 and the CN Tower brings in 2 million tourists a year (each paying twenty dollars).
In fact, the new TTC would act as a tourist magnet for Toronto and increase the number of visits to our city. Once here, they would be able to see an incredible public institution, filled with proud riders and displaying the incredible talent and diversity of Toronto’s population.

Tourism is an important part of our economy. And attracting tourists isn’t easy to do. But instead of trying so hard to look like other cities (like building Dundas Square) why don’t we try creating new ideas that make Toronto unique and stand out from the crowd? The Toronto Transit Art Gallery would be a great place to start.

But what about the money?

TTC riders have been tricked into thinking that the advertising plastered on every surface of our vehicles is necessary because it provides a significant financial subsidy to our ride.
The truth is, the entire Viacom contract only contributes four cents per ride. That means that if you removed every ad on every bus, streetcar, subway and station you would see a token price jump from $2.50 to $2.54.

Is it worth it? Didn’t the TTC raise fares by 25 cents this year already? Couldn’t they have taken a nickel from that raise and put it towards beautifying the TTC? Four cents would pay for the lost ad revenue and the other penny would create a four million dollar fund to pay for the printing and installation of art and community announcements.

If Viacom wants to cover the TTC with ads, then they should pay for the entire ride. The TTC should be free. That’s how advertising contracts usually work. Free benches, free garbage cans, etc.

How did the TTC Commissioners manage to sell-off the entire TTC for four cents a ride?

When Viacom is ready to pay the full cost of the transit system, let them have it. Until then, as long as we have to pay for our ride, please, give us back our TTC.