Staff Report #1 – Poetry and Art on Buses

Staff Report #1

April 27, 2026

To All Commissioners

Re: Poetry and Art on Buses

Recommendation

That the report be RECEIVED for information.

Background

At the August 27, 2025 meeting, the Commission received a delegation with respect to displaying poetry and art work from local artists on buses and directed Administration to report back on the feasibility of implementation by early 2026. Administration has undertaken an assessment of the costs and resource requirements associated with a project of this nature.

As background, all internal and external messaging displayed on the fleet of conventional buses is subject to the terms and conditions of the advertising contract with Lamar. Under this contract, Lamar is responsible for the production and installation of all onboard advertising (both internal and external). Terms of this contract include the ability for London Transit to utilize space for LTC messaging on board. Lamar has confirmed that they would allow a project of this nature to be included in the LTC space, and as such, there would be no charge for the placement of the internal cards; however, LTC and/or any partners would be responsible for the costs associated with the printing and installation. Internal advertising panels are 35” by 11” in size, and all artwork would have to be sized and adjusted to this specification and provided to Lamar in a print ready version. The printing and installation costs exclusive of applicable taxes for interior panels is set out in the table below.

The annual costs associated with the printing and installation of the artwork would be dependent on whether there would be differing artwork on the fleet and how often the artwork would be changed. The following options provide estimated costs with a number of different scenarios:

• If the same artwork were to be installed fleet wide, and changed once per month, the estimated annual costs associated with the printing and installation would be approximately $39,000 excluding applicable taxes.
• If a selection of five different pieces of art were to be displayed on the fleet (50 of each), and switched every month, the estimated annual costs associated with printing and installation would be $118,000excluding applicable taxes.
• If a selection of fifteen different pieces of art were to be displayed on the fleet (20 of each), and switched every month, the estimated annual costs associated with printing and installation would be $330,000 excluding applicable taxes.

The costs borne by London Transit would be dependent upon any agreement with the parties posting the artwork, noting this could be a shared arrangement where the parties pay all or a portion of the printing and installation costs.

The contract with Lamar also sets out guidelines which apply to the type of information that can be included in any onboard messaging, for which Lamar is responsible for adhering to. While there are cases where Administration is asked to confirm whether an advertisement is consistent with the guidelines, this is limited to 1-2 times per year, and as such, there are no dedicated staff resources associated with this program.

While the delegation requested that artwork from local artists be considered, discussion during the meeting also suggested consideration be given to partnerships with local schools, for which artwork from students could be displayed. Regardless of the partners associated with this project, the responsibility for confirming that the artwork meets established guidelines and is provided in a print-ready format would be the responsibility of LTC Administration as per the contract provisions. Given there is currently no administrative resources required for the current contract, taking on this project would require an additional staff complement. The workload would be dependent upon the number of art pieces being prepared for printing, and the frequency of the changes of the artwork displayed. This position would also be responsible for ensuring all posted materials meet London Transit guidelines (which would need to be developed), and working directly with the program partners to gather the art and schedule the display of same. The estimated annual costs associated with a staff resource is $100,000 noting there is no resource capacity within the current complement to take on this role.

Based on the estimates provided in this report, a program of this nature would cost in the range of $130,000 to $430,000 annually. There is currently no funding available for a project of this nature in the 2026 operating budget. Should the Commission wish to implement a program of this nature going forward, Administration would recommend that direction be given to prepare a formal program, including potential participants and partners for inclusion in the 2027 operating budget program noting this would be a new business case that is incremental to the operating budget approved for 2027 through the multi-year budget process.

Recommended by:

Mike Gregor, Director of Finance

Katie Burns, Director of Planning

Joanne Galloway, Director of Human Resources

Craig Morneau, Director of Fleet & Facilities

Shawn Wilson, Director of Operations – Specialized

David Butler, Director of Operations – Conventional

Concurred in by:

Kelly S. Paleczny, General Manager