All outer surfaces of the used trams bought from the German city of Mannheim can be used for advertising purposes. This was the decision reached by the Helsinki public transport committee in their heated and emotionally-charged meeting on Thursday. The committee had to resort to a vote to settle the matter.
Six votes were cast in favour of the adverts, while two were against them. One empty ballot was also handed in.
The opposing views presented during the squabble had little to do with the official policies of different parties. Instead, the members of the committee voted according to their personal principles.
The selling of advertising space on the sides of the trams was objected to by Ari Lehtinen (SDP) and Alina Mänttäri (Left Alliance).
The four 30-year-old trams from Mannheim are expected to serve one to two years in Helsinki. They are needed to make up for the shortfall caused by all-too-regular repairs to newer rolling stock (see linked article).
In practice, the entire outer surface of the trams - including the windows - can be covered with ads. "This, however, is an exceptional case", says the city public transport committee chairperson Jessica Karhu (Green League).
"These trams are not part of our permanent fleet. Our other trams will stay free from advertisements", Karhu comments.
The committee also specified that the advertisements have to be in accordance with good taste. They will have to comply with the principles of the Council of Ethics in Advertising and the National Product Control Agency.
Furthermore, in cases where the quality or the content of the advertisement is open to debate, the approval of Helsinki City Transport is required. It is also stipulated that the passengers themselves are not to be used as part of the idea of the advert covering the tram.
