By Roman Zakaluzny
Post Staff Writer
In a move tantamount to spring cleaning, the Kyiv Metro will soon remove wall advertisements in subway cars in favor of television screens playing non-stop commercials.
Kyiv Metro management claims the move will make subway rides �more aesthetically pleasing�, calling print ads in the city�s subway cars an �eyesore.�
Whether the idea will appeal to commuters or not, for Kyiv�s publicly funded subway system, it�s a matter of both ambiance and control. �We�re trying to move away from [poster] advertisements on the subway car�s walls,� said a representative from the Kyiv Metro who requested anonymity. �We haven�t placed any ads on new or recently-repaired subway cars. We�re trying to avoid making the inside of the car an eyesore.�
The representative added that TV ads can be vetted and controlled more efficiently than the posters that have previously gone up.
�Some of the [posters] were vulgar, or not aesthetically pleasing,� he said. �But those on the screens can be edited and pulled, if necessary.�
Kyiv Metro would not divulge how much it earned from selling poster ads, or how much it expects to earn from selling TV commercials, but profits for the city generated by ad revenue have been growing year on year since 1998. Already several metro stations feature large flat-screen monitors typically broadcasting the Fashion Television channel.
Eight screens will be installed in each car and will differ significantly from those on the platforms. In addition to showing ads they will also intermittently inform deaf and hard-of-hearing passengers � who may not hear which stop has been announced � where the trains are headed using detailed maps.
The clean up, and a further move announced last month to install elevators in the city�s 42 metro stations, form part of a coordinated effort to modernize Kyiv�s transportation network and make it more user friendly.
Sales of TV-style ad spaces would likely generate large revenues for the Kyiv City Administration � revenues lost when its proposal to increase fares for the metro and other forms of public transportation were rejected. The city re-submitted the proposal on March 13 to the Ukrainian Justice Ministry. The original bill was scuttled on March 9 by the ministry, which must sign into law all bills passed by the city administration. The ministry has until March 23 to sign it.
The original bill, strongly supported both by Kyiv Mayor Oleksandr Omelchenko and the 17,000-strong metro worker�s union, had asked that rates for trams, trolleybuses, buses and the subway be raised from Hr 0.50 to Hr 0.80 citywide. Discounted fares for pensioners, city workers, the disabled and others would stay the same.
Omelchenko said the increase was needed to avoid a projected Hr 130 million to Hr 140 million shortfall in Kyiv�s city budget.