LTA sells ad spaces at overhead bridges, underpasses and covered linkways for first time

SINGAPORE – Look up at a pedestrian overhead bridge some time in the near future and you may see an advertisement touting a new product or service.

For the first time, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has auctioned off the right to operate ad spaces at about 120 pedestrian overhead bridges, underpasses and covered linkways.

This is part of a 10-year contract awarded on Tuesday, which also consolidates advertising concessions for LTA’s bus stops and taxi stands – another first for the authority.

Previously, ad spaces at the bus stops and taxi stands that LTA owns were tendered out as two separate contracts.

In a statement, LTA said the new single contract will start from January and can be extended by another six years. The deal also includes the installation and maintenance of bus stop poles.

The tender, called in November 2022, was awarded to Stellar Experience, a subsidiary of public transport operator SMRT.

The company, which placed the highest bid, will pay the Government a guaranteed minimum of $268.9 million in advertising concession fees over the 10-year period. In all, LTA received proposals from four bidders, including incumbents Clear Channel Singapore and JC Decaux Singapore.

According to government procurement portal GeBiz, Clear Channel Singapore submitted a bid worth $169.4 million, JC Decaux Singapore put in a $132 million bid, and Moove Media – the advertising arm of transport firm ComfortDelGro – submitted the lowest bid of $97.1 million.

Clear Channel Singapore, which now handles advertising for the bulk of bus stops here, has an existing contract with LTA that expires in December. JC Decaux’s contract will expire in March 2025. Together, the two currently manage the advertising displays at and maintenance of around 4,000 bus shelters and 50 taxi shelters islandwide.

LTA said it has been appointing operators to manage advertising spaces at bus stops and taxi stands, as well as maintain them, since 1999. The advertising revenue generated is shared with the Government through a concession fee model, where the vendor pays fees to the Government in exchange for the right to advertise at these places.

By consolidating the concessions, and adding advertising spaces at overhead bridges, covered linkways and underpasses into the mix, LTA said it hopes to give the ad operator greater scale and the ability to sell ads across various platforms. The idea is that this will boost advertising revenue, which in turn raises the concession fees that the authority collects, it added.

LTA said it wanted to test the advertising potential of its overhead bridges, covered linkways and underpasses, which was why it chose to start on a smaller scale and selected about 120 of them for inclusion in this contract.

It did not provide the locations of these spaces, saying only that some are in industrial estates and near mixed-use developments.

LTA said it evaluated the proposals it received based on quality, the operator’s ability to maintain the bus stops and taxi stands to the authority’s standards, and the operator’s ability to generate revenue.

“Stellar Experience was assessed to have submitted the strongest overall proposal, with a competitive bid,” it added.

Stellar Experience is the holding company for Stellar Lifestyle, SMRT’s business arm. Stellar Lifestyle’s advertising arm is Stellar Ace. Stellar Ace managing director Jeslyn Tan said the company’s bid was based on its knowledge and record in out-of-home advertising.

“Stellar Ace’s strong understanding of the entire scope of the tender and the potential revenue will allow us to fulfil our commitments to LTA,” she added.