By KATHERINE PETERSEN
People who ride the bus in Sunnyvale will soon be protected from the weather by new shelters. The first three of 12 teal-colored, illuminated transit shelters have been installed in Sunnyvale under the first phase of a public/private partnership agreement between the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and Eller Media Company.
Over the next several months new shelters will replace old ones throughout Santa Clara County. Sunnyvale City Council approved the project last October. The new shelters are at the intersections of Arques Avenue and Wolfe Road, Arques and Lakeside Drive and Geneva and Java drives.
"The arrangement will provide better accommodations for the public without taxpayer expense. It's a good example of a collaborative project with mutual benefits," said David Vossbrink, Sunnyvale's community relations officer.
Under the contract awarded by the transit authority, Eller Media Company assumed responsibility for the cleaning and maintenance of about 425 existing shelters this year, saving the authority about $500,000. The new shelters will carry commercial and public service advertising, with two ad panels in each shelter.
"We are extremely pleased with our partnership with the Transportation Authority," said Mario DeTomasi, Eller Media's vice president and sales manager. "In addition to providing the transit ridership with clean, illuminated, and safe shelters, the revenue generated from advertising will benefit everyone."
The Transportation Authority will enjoy an 18 percent revenue share from the advertising with Eller over the term of the 15-year agreement. It will then split its revenue share with participating cities, according to the number of shelters each has. Eller Media estimated that Sunnyvale could receive $7,500.
The advertising component of the program is already a tremendous success, with the San Jose Mercury News leading a trio of initial clients.
Eller Media Company purchased Patrick Media Group in August 1995, to become the largest outdoor advertising company in the United States.
Headquartered in Phoenix, Eller has over 43,000 billboards spanning 31 markets. In Northern California, Eller manages and operates the BART advertising franchise with close to 6,400 out-of-home displays and over 750 on the SamTrans bus system in San Mateo County.
Eller Media will take responsibility for cleaning, trash pickup and general maintenance of all shelters for the right to put advertising in the new aluminum and glass ones.
Eight cities and the unincorporated areas of the county are participating in the project.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, June 19, 1996.
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