Shelter changes cause complaints

West Midlands bus passengers have been complaining about the removal of front windows from bus shelters. The region’s transport authority, Centro, has been taking away the covering so adverts can be better seen in an effort to attract more advertising revenue. Birmingham Councillor, Jerry Evans, has argued Centro has put revenues before passenger comfort, with people waiting at the stops now suffering from being more open to the elements.

A Centro spokesman said, ‘In the current financial climate we have to look at ways of raising money from non-public sector sources and a very important stream of revenue comes from the advertising on Centro’s 5,000 bus shelters to provide essential services. Money raised through this is used to help maintain and clean shelters, pay for new infrastructure and help fund the Safer Travel Partnership – a police team dedicated to tackling and deterring crime on the region’s transport network. It is possible to increase advertising revenue by modifying the shelters so adverts are more prominent, which is similar to London where no shelters are enclosed. This has involved removing the front panels from 273 of those shelters across the West Midlands. We will continue to monitor feedback from passengers about the modified shelters.’

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