Not the little billboard-type ads you see on the side, I’m asking about when the whole bus is painted. I saw one today…the entire bus was purple and said “AmeriCard” (or something like that). I’ve seen this before, with the “Today” show people, for the zoo, for different health insurers, etc.
How do they paint the whole bus?
How do they get it off?
How can they paint the windows, and yet passengers can still see out?
How much does it cost, compared to the little ads you usually see?
Does the advertiser prefer to do buses on certain routes?
Thanks!
i don’t have a definitive answer, but will throw some knowledge into the pot.
I think that it’s not paint, but rather a big, giant sticker. If you sit on the bus and look out, you can see that its almost a really fine mesh, creating a tinted window effect where the rider can see out, but people outside can’t see IN.
Anyhow, maybe that will contribute somehow.
jarbaby
jarbabyj’s right. It’s a whole bus decal, or more accurately a thin, self adhesive vinyl wrap. Easy on, easy off, easily replaced.
Here’s a good article from the The Daily Reporter newspaper (somewhere in Central Ohio). The artcle gives setup cost and monthly rates charged by the Central Ohio Transit Authority as well as a link to a related “how to” article.
And if you want to join in, you do the same with your car. Make a little green while you drive!
I’ve been on busses like that. The side of the bus is either painted or a big sticker, I dunno. The windows have a cloth mesh over them that has the design painted on them. You can see out of the mesh, but unless your up close, you can’t see inside.
Be sure, if you get a wrap-around decal on your car, that it contains no misspellings and has proper grammar. 
Just a big sticker, huh?
Well, there goes my image of someone meticulously painting an entire bus!
Thanks!
Well, they DO do that, but we just call it graffiti
jarbaby
As long as someone is talking about one of my favorite pet peeves…
Don’t these stickers defeat the whole point of the branding of the bus line? Ferinstance, I first saw these in Boston. Boston’s MBTA buses have a very distinctive look. The colorations scheme is always the same. Then they started with these ads. If I’m trying to catch the #62 to Bedford, I can’t just keep half an eye out for the bus. Instead of looking like it should, it might look a giant Dunkin’ Donuts cruller.
Considering the amount of money that corporations (and goverment institutions) spend in getting a uniform look among all their products and services, isn’t this counterproductive?
Don’t even get me started about ads on the “emergency sign” over the Mass Pike…
[Homer Simpson]
Mmmm … donut.
[/Homer Simpson]