Written on Thursday, August 2nd, 2007 at 7:43pm by Alan Bedenko | 12 Comments

Sponsorships

Ways to save money in government can be done in a complicated fashion, through control boards, union negotiations, and layoffs.

Other ways are so easy, I’m amazed that no one’s considered them before.

1. Every pay & display ticket that people get when parking in downtown Buffalo should have a coupon printed on the back of it. Buffalonians love coupons, right? The cost of the pay & display system could easily be offset by some advertising on the tickets themselves. If nothing else, the cost of the paper could be covered.

2. Everyone hates the tolls on the Thruway, right? Well, Massachusetts’ EZ-Pass equivalent is sponsored by Citizens’ Bank. EZ Pass should be sponsored. The Thruway should do whatever it can to pull in sponsorships and lower or abolish tolls.

3. The NFTA could sell naming rights for bus lines.

What else you got?

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12 Comments

  1. Buffalo Blood Donor says:
    August 2, 2007 at 8:02 pm

    4) NASCAR sponsors could supply engines, chassis and numbers to police cars. Some people might feel a little better getting stopped by car number 24.

    BBD

  2. Adam K. says:
    August 2, 2007 at 8:33 pm

    5) Why not have auto inspection coupons on DMV receipts?

    6) Why not franchise out the restaurant and store space in the Rath Building and City Hall?

    7) Ummm…the SUBWAY Subway?

  3. BS Detector (aka Keyboard Warrior & Buffalo Hater) says:
    August 2, 2007 at 9:29 pm

    8) Public Union member head-tax.

  4. BS Detector (aka Keyboard Warrior & Buffalo Hater) says:
    August 2, 2007 at 9:29 pm

    That shoulda been #8 but came up a cool-guy face. Sorry.

  5. NTB says:
    August 2, 2007 at 9:31 pm

    Strongly disagree with this. Sure, you make a few bucks. But my sense is that covering everything public in ads makes it tougher to be proud of public amenities. Just as most of us wouldn’t want to drive around in cars covered in advertisements, or cover our houses with marketing messages, neither should we cover our buses, public facilities, etc in ads. Public goods should be spiffed up to increase usage, not cheapened down by crap ad content.

    Saw an NFTA bus yesterday which featured an ad from an autoglass place that took the shape of a fake cracked window on the side of the bus. (A fake bullet-hole, I guess…) Which, of course, hits exactly the notes that public transport should be working to undo – that the buses are unsafe, full of criminals, only for the poor, etc etc. It’s like, dunno, the Buffalo News taking a full page ad buy that bashes the paper for being a piece of shit. Not a good business decision.

  6. Mike In WNY says:
    August 2, 2007 at 9:32 pm

    This is a good idea IF it is used in conjunction with real government cost cutting. If it is used as just another source of revenue to fund more BIG government, it will do more harm than good.

  7. j02138 says:
    August 2, 2007 at 11:06 pm

    Even with sponsorships, tolls went up a dollar each way between Allston/Brighton and 128 last year.

  8. Ethan says:
    August 3, 2007 at 8:56 am

    I would not advocate for even more corporate advertising syullying our views… what’s next: “The City of Buffalo, brought to you by HSBC?”

    I’d rather gvt just worked as it is supposed to than to hand over even more of it to corporations.

  9. gobuffalony says:
    August 3, 2007 at 9:54 am

    I’d say “The City of Buffalo, brought to you by HSBC” is a lot better than “The City of Buffalo, brought to you by inept Mayor Brown and Buffalo Common Council”

    If Buffalo was run anything like HSBC, we would have a much different city.

  10. Ethan says:
    August 3, 2007 at 9:18 pm

    The solution to bad governance is not to make governments more like businesses; it’s to stop voting for inept politicians.

    Certain aspects of running a business well do apply to governments, that I won’t disagree with. But ultimately, the aim of a business is to generate profit for shareholders- while the aim of government is to manage resources in the people’s best interests and to protect the people’s rights.

    In many instances, those are mutually exclusive goals.

  11. BS Detector (aka Keyboard Warrior & Buffalo Hater) says:
    August 3, 2007 at 9:58 pm

    The solution to bad governance is not to make governments more like businesses; it’s to stop voting for inept politicians.

    Easy to say, but what happens if there is nobody competent to vote for? This whole region is one sick, amalgamated, convoluted special interest. Worse than most. It’s petite gangster-ism or Chicagoland Jr. I believe it’s impossible for a “squeaky clean,” unconnected individual to be elected in the city, county, or even some of the suburbs.

  12. Ethan says:
    August 3, 2007 at 11:12 pm

    Easy to say, but what happens if there is nobody competent to vote for?

    Admittedly, without substantial electoral reform this will continue to be a problem. But I’d rather work towards that end than having corporations take over government functions.

 

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