GIRA shuns advertising but considers it "a sponsorship of relevant amount

This is not the first time that GIRA has associated itself with events, but it is the first time that it has dressed up for one. Various bicycles of Lisbon's public network, as well as some of the stations most used, were decorated with the colors of Comic Con Portugalthe biggest pop culture event in the country that will take place from December 8 to 11, at Parque das Nações.

Is this the first sale of advertising space on GIRA infrastructure? EMEL says noand states that it is not "for the moment" equating this model. However, the future of GIRA in terms of economic sustainability may involve "a sponsorship of relevant amount".

EMEL does not consider selling advertising space

As EMEL itself recognizes, in response to questions posed by Lisboa Para Pessoas, "in several large city systems, the sale of advertising space available on equipment, such as stations and bicycles, generates considerable revenue that helps balance the operating account". "But this is an issue that is not being equated at this time"The company, owned by the Lisbon City Council, adds. "Since the launch of GIRA, EMEL has never sold advertising on the bikes or stations."

Note that the sale of advertising space is a model followed by other public transport operators, such as Carris and Metro de Lisboa; in the case of the latter, the public company manages to raise about 1.4 million euros per year with advertisements in the stations and carriages. However, it should be noted that not only does GIRA reach fewer people than Metro or even Carris, it is also at a different stage of maturity.

In 2022, GIRA began to associate itself more prominently with some of the city's events. At the end of August, it was the "official transportation" of the last edition of Lisbon Book Fairwhich meant only the promotion of the shared mobility service at the event. Already in September, GIRA the brand became associated with European Mobility Week with the decoration of some bikes, which received yellow stickers next to the rear wheel and phrases such as "I choose to arrive first" or "I choose less traffic". At the same time, GIRA has been supporting other events over the past years, either by offering passes to participants or by providing bicycles.

Comic Con Portugal is the first event that GIRA joins and that is communicated, in a very visible way, on bikes and stations. However, EMEL guarantees that this is a "awareness campaign alluding to good environmental practices and the promotion of soft mobility"and is framed in the fact that it is a partner in this year's edition of that great pop culture fair. "GIRA is the Official Sustainable Transportation for the event, so it makes perfect sense to encourage visitors to use GIRA to get around Comic Con."explains a source from the company to Lisboa Para Pessoas. "The philosophy behind this partnership is to promote the use of the bicycle as a means of mobility in the city. In fact, the campaign is quite similar to the one launched in the European Mobility Week."

In addition to decorating some stations with colors and information about the event, several bicycles now have a message created from the signature of this edition of Comic Con Portugal - "We can be heroes. On some bikes, the message "Heroes protect the environment" has been added, and on others the phrase "Heroes choose the bike."

GIRA open to "a sponsorship of relevant amount"

Even if it is not the result of an advertising relationship, the campaign between GIRA and Comic Con still gives visibility to the event on the streets, especially among an age group that will be more interested in it (according to data recently revealed at a conference, most GIRA users are between 16 and 34 years old). This partnership may be a clue about the future of GIRA - not about selling advertising space, but about establishing a sponsorship partnership that helps the economic balance of the bike-sharing system. At Lisbon For People, the company "admits to finding a partner that sees itself in the ambition of the project and evaluates it according to the increasingly valued dimension of sustainability that the system materializes".

This intention is also reflected in EMEL's Plan of Activities and Budget for 2022, which should be approved this Wednesday and to which Lisboa Para Pessoas had access. With the planned expansion of network for 300 stations and 3000 bicycles by 2026 - an investment that, "considering only equipment, exceeds 9.5 million euros“ -, EMEL says that, given the size of this amount (which will be accompanied "of others of similar size in operating expenses"), it is necessary to find "alternative funding sources"not least because "the defined tariff aims to maximize the adhesion and use of the system, moving away from any perspective of economic balance".

However, "in order to be able to attract stakeholders for a sponsorship of relevant amount, confidence in the system and its availability needs to be consolidated"writes EMEL. The municipal company recognizes "upsets in this matter" and points out setbacks in stock management ("strongly impacted by the difficulties that are manifesting themselves in the supply chains") and in the salary grid in the workshops (which will lead to "to a high turnover within the team that ensures the support operations to the system"). In short, "EMEL will have to find a way to ensure, in terms of maintenance and balancing operations, the efficiency it has already achieved in the implementation of stations, enabling maximum fleet availability for use"..

In September, recall that, in an interview to DNEMEL's President, Carlos Silva, had already mentioned it is necessary to rethink the financial model of GIRA. In other cities, there are examples of sponsorship of bike-sharing systems. This is the case in London, where the Santander bank lends its name to the British capital's public bicycle network. Santander Cycleswhich is, however, managed by Transport for London. Out there, you can also find the model of selling advertising space at stations and on bicycles - the model that EMEL says it is not considering "for the moment".