Honolulu City Council Considers Bill 59: Exterior Ads Proposed for Skyline and TheBus to Raise Transit Revenue
The Honolulu City Council in Hawaii discussed Bill 59 on October 21. The bill proposes allowing commercial advertising on the exteriors of city transit vehicles, including Skyline rail trains and TheBus buses. The measure remains under consideration and has not reached a final vote.
The bill's intent is to raise new revenue for the transit system. According to Hawaii News Now, operating the system costs more than $475 million a year, while the system makes about $50 million a year in revenue. Advertising is already allowed inside transit vehicles, bringing in about $135,000 a year.
Supporters in the debate say exterior transit advertising is common in many U.S. cities and could subsidize operations without raising taxes or fares. Opponents worry that moving billboards would harm Hawaii's scenery. Hawaii enacted the first billboard ban in the United States in 1927, and earlier proposals to put advertising on Honolulu buses, in 2003 and again in 2014, did not pass.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图片来源：Wikimedia Commons，作者 Musashi1600，CC BY 4.0（Skyline 列车抵达 Āhua 站） / Photo: Wikimedia Commons, by Musashi1600, CC BY 4.0 (Skyline train arriving at Ahua Station)
