It’s a small revolution that is underway in Lyon’s public transport. This April 1, digital advertising panels are disappearing from the walls of the metro. A choice made by the ecological municipality of the third largest city in France. The goal: to reduce residents’ exposure to advertising while saving electricity.
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Up to 2,200 advertisements are sent to each individual every day. This is too much for Bruno Bernard, the president of the Lyon metropolitan area and the urban transport authority (TCL).
Unplugged
118 digital panels will be disconnected this April 1, then removed, i.e. all of those installed in the metro. And they will not be replaced by classic panels.
The benefit will also be seen on the electricity bill: the annual consumption of all these digital panels is equivalent to that of around fifty households. There are also thirty tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions which will be avoided every year.
Miss to win ?
Opponents of the measure deplore a shortfall: advertising indeed brings in – but not that much – 34 million euros, or 0.4% of the total budget of the Lyon transport authority. All this will be compensated, however, assures the Lyon executive. The remaining advertising spaces, fewer in number, will therefore be sold more expensively.
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