Friday, July 29, 2011

Thanks for riding the T: Have a drink on us.

While we are on the topic of signs, I thought a previous Secretary of Transportation had made a commitment that the MBTA (Boston's transit system) would turn down advertisements that sold alcoholic beverages.  Instead, the T seems to be targeting those ads to the poorer sections of town and near colleges and universities.

At least one state representative recognizes the public health implications of this practice and has filed a bill to ban it.  But, shouldn't the Governor take this issue on without legislation?  It would be a good time to just say no.
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4 comments:

  1. Gabrielle GurleyJuly 29, 2011 12:02 PM

    MBTA GM Richard Davey is actually considering a ban on alcohol advertising after the current contract expires in 2015. A statewide coalition is also pushing the T to take some interim steps to shield young people from the ads.
    More at:
    http://www.commonwealthmagazine.org/News-and-Features/Online-exclusives/2011/Spring/010-MBTA-considering-a-ban-on-alcohol-advertising.aspx

    Gabrielle Gurley
    Commonwealth magazine

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  2. AnonymousJuly 29, 2011 2:19 PM

    I believe those bus stops are actually a Menino/City of Boston program, not the T (I complained that the advertisers covered up maps on them and the T told me to talk to the city, which was of course useless (they said they get a lot of cash for the ads so not to complain).

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  3. AnonymousJuly 29, 2011 2:45 PM

    The notion that we have to wait until 2015 to get rid of them is preposterous. The contract doesn't give the T some review of content? I can't believe that.

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  4. ErinJuly 29, 2011 6:46 PM

    While we are at it, could we ask them to stop accepting ads that objectify women? That's not healthy either.

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