[Article] Luas Ads an act of vandalism

[Mark Hennessy]

http://www.tribune.ie/news/home-news...-of-vandalism/

NEW ADVERTISING slogans on Luas trams amount to a cheap vandalism stunt and they should be removed, a Fianna Fáil councillor has claimed

Obviously this councilor has a lot of time on his hands to be worried about advertising on trams

[Donal Quinn]

when i saw the title i thought it was this luas poster (ignore the colour) that some thoughtful student used his/her tippex pen to correct

[chris]

I've no problem with them using the exterior of the trams as advertising space. But is it safe at at-grade junctions where drivers will be looking out for the distinctive silver?

[Mark Gleeson]

The current Luas livery is probably the dullest livery of any transport operator

There is no safety issue, if you don't see the headlights you shouldn't be driving then again if you come face to face with a tram its probably because you broke a red light

[chris]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

The current Luas livery is probably the dullest livery of any transport operator

You're obviously not familiar with the Berlin S-Bahn

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

There is no safety issue, if you don't see the headlights you shouldn't be driving then again if you come face to face with a tram its probably because you broke a red light

I guess that's fair enough, but then again I wasn't talking about situations where drivers are in the right, otherwise there wouldn't have been any collisions since LUAS opened. Might take the jaywalking pedestrians at Abbey Street some time to get used to though.

[sean]

I disagree about the paint scheme, I think the Luas paint job is rather nice. And the money these things generate will be welcome too - PROVIDED it's spent on the service or maintenance and doesn't go into an administrative black hole similar to the HSE or whatever the @#$% is going on in CIE.

[Thomas Ralph]

I think (hope) that the RPA is ring-fenced slightly better.

[Colm Moore]

If you look close up, quite a few trams have taken a battering, with dents and scratches - much of the panelling is lightweight to reduce the risks in collisions (the structure is solid).

Originally Posted by sean

whatever the @#$% is going on in CIE.

Whatever about buying expensive oil, running more trains, but suffering falling numbers because of recession, I suspect the real problem is that the group pension funds need topping up after investment turmoil over the last 2 years.

The RPA will have that hole aswell - although I imagine it will get filled by the exchequer.

The advertising money probably goes back into the Luas fund.

http://www.tribune.ie/news/home-news...-of-vandalism/

Households on the Luas lines have a potential weekly consumer spend of €4.3bn so any plans to allow advertising on all trams could be a lucrative earner for the RPA.

€4.3bn x 52 = €223.6bn - that exceeds total national income.

[PLUMB LOCO]

I never thought that I would agree with a Fianna Fail rep about anything but this councillor is dead right. The defacing of the beautiful Luas livery with advertising is vandalism. The bright modern image projected by the trams is a welcome sight in the drab city. Why does everything in Ireland have to have advertising on it - it is as bad as bloody graffiti and there is enough of that on the DART!!! In some Irish Rail stations (Wicklow/Arklow and Gorey) you can't even sit on the platform without sitting on uncomfy seats with ad panels. Where does all the revenue go that comes in from Irish Rail's numerous ad.sites?

[Colm Moore]

Into the general CIÉ/IÉ pot.