BEND, OR -- Cascades East Transit buses are starting to look a little different. The Central Oregon Inter-Governmental Council, the agency that manages the bus system, is doing away with commercial advertising.

Derek Hofbauer, with CET, says the ad space will instead be sold to partner agencies, like the Oregon Department of Transportation and city of Bend. "We want them to be, not just our partners, but also our stakeholders, and come to our meetings and just be engaged as we grow our transit system." He says CET collected about $70,000 a year in ad revenue, and he believes revenue will remain about the same under the new policy. "One of the reasons that we’re doing this is to really be able to tailor each sponsorship with each agency or partner. So, for example, if they wanted to have a group pass program, where they’re getting bus passes for all of their employees, that’s something we can tailor each of these sponsorship agreements to include each of those extra amenities that CET and COIC brings to the table."

He tells KBND News riders won’t notice much change, as ads shift from featuring local products and businesses to promoting local services and safety messages, "We’re going to, most likely, be advertising on the same spots as normal on the sides of the buses. We’re already working with ODOT and there’s a lot of their safety messages and safety campaign information on our buses, so it wouldn’t really differ any from what’s typically been put on the buses." With the new policy, sponsorships are available for agencies that demonstrate responsible stewardship in the community, and ads must adhere to community values.

CET buses are slowly transitioning to the new ads and will be re-wrapped over time, "This just got passed by the COIC board and adopted, so now we’re in the process of actually implementing it."