Now, ads bring moolah to cash-strapped UPSRTC

Advertisement business is turning out to be a good source of income for the fund-starved UP State Road Transport Corporation , reports Brajendra K Parashar.

Advertisement business is turning out to be a good source of income for the fund-starved UP State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC).

HT Image

Private companies including Airtel and Idea are queuing up before the UPSRTC for getting a space on its buses’ panels to promote their brand image. In Lucknow, all of its more than 100 city buses stand “sold” for advertisements and companies are waiting for the corporation to add new buses to its city bus fleet.

It is not surprising that the UPSRTC mopped up Rs 7 crore revenue by selling advertisement space on its buses and bus stations during 2006-07. “Earlier, we earned only Rs 40-50 lakh annually from ads. But we earned Rs 7 crore during the just concluded financial year,” said a UPSRTC official. In fact, till 2006, the UPSRTC awarded contracts to private companies for booking advertisements against a fixed commission to the department. But in 2006, the then UPSRTC managing director, Umesh Sinha decided that the corporation would directly book advertisements instead of giving the contract to any advertising company.

“Our ad revenue has been increasing ever since. In Lucknow we earned Rs 50 lakh from advertisements on city buses,” said the official. “Among our clients are Airtel, Idea, LIC, banks, UPAIDS and Jagran Engage”, he stated.