BusHunter Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 It seems the advertising on Pace buses via the clever devices (not sure if Pace calls it that) has begun. If you ride the #383 and approach the 95th/cicero intersection you'll be greeted by this message. (it goes something like this) "Hello Pace riders while riding the bus don't forget to stop in at the Oak Lawn Fresh Market, the freshest market in Oak Lawn where you can find fresh produce and meat. Stop in for our sale of $1.99 LB for ground chuck." (or some other kind of meat I'm forgetting that part) Not being from that part of town I wondered where is the store. It's off in the distance across a parking lot to the east. I don't know how much business this is going to draw. They could've done what Aldi's did at it's Bedford Park location and hang a big sign advertising a wow deal in front of Walmart. I don't think even Walmart is going to touch milk for $1.79/gallon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 It was noted a while back that Pace was advertising for proposals for this. Apparently, it must have gone through. Also, it appears to be the type of localized advertising I indicated, except for the southwest side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Railwaymodeler Posted October 20, 2011 Report Share Posted October 20, 2011 It is happening here at North. Taco Bell is advertising a 99 cent item. Plus Comcast was advertising some sportsnet stuff briefly. Seeing that most Pace North drivers come to my computer shop when their computers malfunction, it would be appropriate if I rented out some ad space on the buses. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusHunter Posted October 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2011 It is happening here at North. Taco Bell is advertising a 99 cent item. Plus Comcast was advertising some sportsnet stuff briefly. Seeing that most Pace North drivers come to my computer shop when their computers malfunction, it would be appropriate if I rented out some ad space on the buses. They were advertising Taco Bell on the #270 last weekend, (same commercial) someone also told me about one they heard on a west route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Railwaymodeler Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 Anyone at any other Pace divisions hear one advertisement that is obnoxiously loud and garbled? I've posted to Pace's Facebook page about it, and they seem to be having problems fixing it. The IBS techs seem to keep thinking it is fixed, but it isn't so far. I can't decipher what the ad is for, but it startles the hell out of all the passengers, especially on early morning runs where everyone is still half-asleep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artthouwill Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 Anyone at any other Pace divisions hear one advertisement that is obnoxiously loud and garbled? I've posted to Pace's Facebook page about it, and they seem to be having problems fixing it. The IBS techs seem to keep thinking it is fixed, but it isn't so far. I can't decipher what the ad is for, but it startles the hell out of all the passengers, especially on early morning runs where everyone is still half-asleep. There is one particularly garbled one I can't understand, I think it is advertising some website. I hear it on the Pace West buses as well as a Comcast Sportsnet adwertisement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Railwaymodeler Posted January 31, 2012 Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 Seems an intermediate solution was found, but I am not sure how satisfactory it really is: Time was a driver could press the PA button on the floor (at least that is where it is on the 2400 series NABIs), and it would silence any announcement that may be playing. Then a few years ago they changed it so that a driver could not silence the annoucements that way. As of today (Or very recently), it is back to where a driver can silence the annoucements with the PA button. I was told by a driver that a number of them at the garage were complaining about loud, garbled advertisments being a problem, which caused this change. This does beg the question, how are the ads created? I wonder if the company that rents the space, records them on their own and submits them to Pace, or if it is a joint effort. I've been told that Ms. Pace (The female voice lady), no longer works for Pace. I would think Pace could hire someone to read a script submitted by companies doing the ads. It seems that the companies advertising are hit-or-miss with audio quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted January 31, 2012 Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 This does beg the question, how are the ads created? I wonder if the company that rents the space, records them on their own and submits them to Pace, or if it is a joint effort. I've been told that Ms. Pace (The female voice lady), no longer works for Pace. I would think Pace could hire someone to read a script submitted by companies doing the ads. It seems that the companies advertising are hit-or-miss with audio quality. That sort of kills your idea of you buying time to advertise your business. For the most part, the speakers are independent contractors, as it was reported that Mr. CTA was someone in Wisconsin. Or Channel 7 had a guy recording the introductions in his basement in Lake Forest, until they decided they needed a younger voice. The radio stations have their "big voice," but one can note that some of the problem is that the announcements indicate that they are "cut and paste," such as the one on The Score yesterday about Emery being hired as G.M. Which basically brings us back to the problem reported here about a year ago with some words being left out of the L announcements, and some announcements being sped up--the announcements are only as good as the electronic files, and apparently these are corrupted or not compatible with the IBS. In that event, it probably doesn't matter who the voice is. The problem is also returned to your area of expertise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Railwaymodeler Posted January 31, 2012 Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 I have gathered that the problem with the advertisement recordings probably is part audio file type (Lossless versus lossy, some audio equipment is rather sensitive to it), and part bitrate quality. possibly. The one corrupt audio ad reminds me of a computer I built myself years ago. This was back in maybe 2003. For whatever reason, which still eludes me, the sound hardware absolutely hated MP3 files ripped from CD at 192k bitrate. They would tend to sound like the one corrupt annoucement. My best guess then and now is that it was a cheapie sound card, and I was running Windows 98, which was growing long in the tooth by then, and I think the card's drivers were buggy. In any event, the filetype problem could be solved by asking advertisers to submit a written script as opposed to an audio file. Much as some radio stations have one of their people read advertisements, Pace's internal person could read those scripts and the actual recordings could be done in-house for better quality. I wish I knew the particulars of audio systems with the IBS. For the most part, it seems as though the IBS is a slightly modified client terminal computer. I work with these on a limited basis (Not many places have a use anymore for a client terminal that boots from and stores all files on a central server). A few North drivers think I could probably have the problem sorted fairly quick if I worked in Pace's IT department. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Railwaymodeler Posted February 7, 2012 Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 So much for the mute button, err PA button. Was on a bus today, and that garbled ad played. Driver tried pressing the PA button, and it didn't work. The noise kept going. I guess either they changed the PA button again to not silence the announcements, or it doesn't work on every bus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artthouwill Posted February 9, 2012 Report Share Posted February 9, 2012 While I still don't remember what website the garbled ad was advertising, the garble seemed to be gone this weekend on Pace West buses. It was still loud, but discernable now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Railwaymodeler Posted February 11, 2012 Report Share Posted February 11, 2012 While I still don't remember what website the garbled ad was advertising, the garble seemed to be gone this weekend on Pace West buses. It was still loud, but discernable now. Was on the evening 565 and the one ad was still garbled and loud. The static was the worst of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted December 4, 2012 Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 I was on a Pace route 290 bus recently and heard an audio commercial(not for Pace!) with the text shown on the interior LED sign. My prediction: CTA will sell audio ads to merchants keyed to the GPS system. When you approach a stop with paying merchant their store gets mentioned when the stop is called. Gene King As noted in this thread, that isn't new for Pace, although using the screen (was it the former Transit TV screen?) might be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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