This June Metro riders were treated to a week of moving art thanks to the Out The Window project – a collaboration between Freewaves, Echo Park Film Center, Public Matters and UCLA REMAP.
The videos shown in June were produced by local high school students under the direction of professional artists. Starting tomorrow and continuing through the end of November, the professional artists steal the show with their own videos airing daily on Transit TV.
The work of 60 artists will be showcased – with a different video featured each day to millions of L.A. bus riders. The videos vary in style and content, but all tell stories and share insights about Los Angeles.
The project will also offer an interactive element. Bus riders will be invited to share feedback and answer questions presented in the videos via text message.
The videos are meant to be viewed on the bus (see the schedule here) but they can also be viewed online by visiting http://out-the-window.org/videos/.
Categories: Metro Art, Metro Lifestyle
How about starting a petition to have a local proposition have the MTA board be directly elected, instead of appointed? I think that the MTA affects enough people in Los Angeles to be held directly responsible….
@Wenda I hate Transit TV personally because they are annoying and loud. However at times they can be muted and/or off.
I think Metro should get rid of Transit TV because it’s just discouraging many riders from riding Metro buses.
Transit TV is really annoying in general, I personally think there should be a law added to ban from having TVs from the public transportation buses.
As for Metro, in reality is that they don’t care what the riders think of the Transit TV or what they want as long as they get revenue (money) from Transit TV. So yes, in, reality Metro doesn’t care about it’s riders.
The only reason why Metro gets away with the law is because a bunch of rich elites are running Metro Board that only care about their money and they don’t care about the law.
I wish Transit TV would go out of business, at least they didnt come back to other Transit systems in other cities in different states in this country, since there are 4 more Transit Agency that use them as well in Atlanta, Suburbs of Chicago, Orlando, and Milwaukee County. The only reason why didn’t came back to other transit system is because they didn’t meet their marketing goal.
I did hear transit systems in San Diego and Dallas signed a contract with them 2-3 years old before Torstar shut Transit TV down, which they were brought by Tezo System (they owned by private bus company called “Transit System” as well) but they never enter to those two cities yet.
Let’s hope Transit TV becomes a thing of the past and gets shut down.
“They know we’re dependent on them for basic transportation, so they know they can take advantage of us and barrage us with this noise without losing their customer base.”
Do what I did: take a $250 motorcycle safety course, pay $30 at the DMV to obtain a motorcycle endorsement, and buy/finance a scooter or motorcycle.
Scooters and motorcycles are faster than bicycling, you have the freedom to go when you want like a car but much more fuel efficient (50-100+ MPGs), and it’s actually cheaper than taking the bus.
A motorcycle can go on HOV lanes on the freeway, and lane splitting is legal in CA so you can whiz by all the cars sitting in traffic or jump straight to the head of the pack at every traffic signal.
I only spend less than $4 to fill up the tank every WEEK; that’s cheaper than as a Metro day pass!
Look around and you’ll see a lot of people ditching the car, bicycle, and public transit to scooters and motorcycles these days.
“…as those recorded announcements like buses in Japan”
I’ve ridden on the buses in Japan and they are exactly what Y Fukuzawa mentioned; the bus announcements/ads were very informative but they were made assertively to care about transit riders’ stress.
Public transit over there just “gets it.” They actually care about the riders and they understand the stress from the riders’ point of view. Maybe because they’ve hired expert psychologists or transit officials actually use the bus or train themselves, but they know how stressful it can be to ride them so they do as much as they can to make them at least less stressful.
“Metro can’t be like that because nobody at Metro cares about their riders.”
I’m honestly beginning to agree with the idea of replacing the Metro board with public transit officials headhunted from Japan.
We should stop wasting our tax dollars on paying Metro board officials and instead we’d better off using our tax money to bring in officials from Japan.
Metro can’t be like that because nobody at Metro cares about their riders. They know we’re dependent on them for basic transportation, so they know they can take advantage of us and barrage us with this noise without losing their customer base.
The other problem with that would be that Metro has an existing (albeit illegal) contract with Tezo Systems, the company that owns Transit TV. Breaking off that deal to go with a completely different type of ad system like that would involve miles of red tape.
There’s a much simpler solution, though. TURN THE SOUND OFF! Put captions on the videos, and let us ride in PEACE, like California law says we are entitled to. Compromise. Works for everyone–Metro makes money, advertisers get to attract customers, everyone complies with the law, and we get our sanity back.
Too bad nobody at Metro ever has to ride the bus.
Transit video would actually work if they weren’t loud and annoying and instead, ambient, actually informative and efficient ad revenue earning as those recorded announcements like buses in Japan:
“The next stop is _______. If you are looking for a new dentist, Nakamura DDS is right around the corner at this stop. Please call us at XXX-XXX-XXXX and say you heard it on the bus for 5% discount. The next stop is ______” (BGM playing to soft, ear soothing BGM and chimes that doesn’t annoy people)
“The next stop is _______. Would you like to learn a new language? [insert name of foreign language school] is at this bus stop. Come inside for details! The next stop is______.” (BGM playing to soft, ear soothing BGM and chimes that doesn’t annoy people)
“The next stop is _______. Daily sales at [insert name of supermarket] a few steps away from this bus stop. You can now pay for your merchandise with your [insert name of contactless transit card]. The next stop is ______.” (BGM playing to soft, ear soothing BGM and chimes that doesn’t annoy people)
Why can’t Metro be like this?
Instead we have “in-your face” advertisements that doesn’t give information on the next bus stop, with the BGM playing to deafening music and sounds like a hard core rock concert. Everything has to be bigger, in your face, louder here.
Seconded!
No videos returning to LA Metro buses would be far more appreciated!
While anything artistic is better than the pointless, mindless, annoying drivel that we commuters are normally barraged with from Transit TV every day, the fact remains that the loud audio that is blasted into buses is extremely stressful to patrons and bus drivers alike.
What some people may not know, is that it is also ILLEGAL. California Penal Code section 640, subdivision (b), paragraph (2) states that “Disturbing another person by loud or unreasonable noise” is an offense punishable by a $250 fine and 48 hours of community service. One may note that this rule is also noted on the signs aboard buses that PROHIBIT any amplified sound that other passengers can hear.
How, then, does Metro get away with allowing Transit TV to blast its noise at us constantly with no way to even turn the volume down?
Respectfully,
Wenda Rose