LED SIGNS MAY BRIGHTEN AD REVENUE FOR BUSES

The LEDs that are transforming vehicle lighting are expanding into a new area: bus advertising. Lighted displays installed on buses can change messages often, even linking to GPS systems to pinpoint ads as buses travel into different neighborhoods. Sign makers are employing LEDs to create signage that offers far more eye appeal and versatility than signboards or even whole-bus wraps. They are targeting transit operations and universities that have large bus fleets and income needs that are growing as states trim funding.

A new entrant, US company Multimedia LEDs, is offering a flat-panel LED scheme that it says provides low power and brightness needed for buses. Though the 31-year-old company has not previously targeted the transportation environment, it has already produced a number of LED-based signs that operate in fairly harsh outdoor conditions. A number of them are in New York’s Times Square, where they run nonstop.

LED suppliers are just beginning to focus on this segment of the advertising world. British supplier Litelogic is already testing the technology on 300 LED panels on buses in Chicago and New York. They are also tied to GPS so messages can be changed in different areas.

That GPS connection could provide important revenue opportunities for cash-strapped transit agencies. They can sell prime-time ads to large companies when viewership might be higher, charging extra to target regional messages.

The brightness of LEDs should also help attract attention. To work in full sunlight, the Multimedia display generates 6000 nit, which is a measurement of the light output per square meter. At night, that can drop to 600 nit.

The LEDs are protected by a clear polycarbonate cover that is hard enough to hit with a hammer. Lifetime for the signs is expected to be around five years. The power budget for the signs has to be around 12 kW or less. That is a challenge when LEDs must be bright enough to attract attention on a sunny day. These power supplies convert the vehicle’s 24-V output to the 5 V needed by the display. If there are power shortages or other power issues, the sign will dim or shut off.

Multimedia patented a cooling technique that lets it fit this fanless power conversion system into the flat sign. Other systems have large boxes that take up space on the bus. The signs will cost from $30,000 to $40,000. That price is for 8-mm LEDs that provide high resolution. Scaling down to 10-mm LEDs will save buyers around $10,000, he noted