Advertising Policy and Disclaimer

PORT AUTHORITY OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY dba Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) ADVERTISING POLICY 

It shall be the policy of Port Authority of Allegheny County (Authority) to accept advertising from third parties for posting in and on the Authority’s vehicles (and any other property owned or controlled by the Authority that it may choose to utilize for third party advertising), at rates set by the Authority, in its sole discretion, with the objective of maximizing revenue while maintaining standards of decency and good taste without infringing on First Amendment rights of prospective advertisers.  Accordingly, the Authority will not accept advertisements that fall into any of the following categories:

• Advertisements that are unlawful, misleading, libelous, slanderous, or fraudulent.
• Advertisements that employ or commercially exploit the likeness, picture, image or name of any person, and/or the trademark, trade name, copyrighted materials or other intellectual property of a third party, without adequate proof of express written authorization.
• Advertisements that glamorize, promote or depict images of sexual conduct, pornography, nudity, sexually-oriented goods or services or businesses that traffic in such goods or services; that appeal to prurient interests; or are otherwise obscene.
• Advertisements that glamorize, promote or depict images of violence; conduct that is violent, criminal or otherwise illegal; or gore, including images of firearms, weapons, and dead or mutilated bodies, body parts, or fetuses (of humans or animals).
• Advertisements that contain, employ, or imply profane or vulgar language.
• Advertisements that suggest or otherwise tend to promote or encourage behavior or conduct on the Authority’s transit vehicles or property that would cause potential harm or injury to the Authority, its officers and employees, its contractors, or its patrons.
• Advertisements that, if permitted, would subject the Authority to the risk of civil or criminal liability.
• Advertisements that promote or depict the sale or use of cigarettes or other tobacco products.
• Advertisements that directly or impliedly disparage, threaten or ridicule any person or group of persons on the basis of race, religious beliefs or lack thereof, age, gender, sexual orientation, alienage, national origin, disability or illness.
• Advertisements that promote the existence or non-existence of a supreme deity, deities, being or beings; that address or promote a specific religion, religious beliefs or lack of religious beliefs; that directly quote or cite to scriptures, religious texts or texts involving religious beliefs or lack of religious beliefs; or are otherwise religious in nature.
• Advertisements that are political in nature or contain political messages, including advertisements involving political figures or candidates for public office, advertisements involving political parties or political affiliations, and/or advertisements involving an issue reasonably deemed by the Authority to be political in nature in that it directly or indirectly implicates the action, inaction, prospective action, or policies of a governmental entity (such as advertisements involving abortion, gun control, gay marriage, or Marcellus Shale drilling).  Nothing in this provision prevents the Authority from accepting non-political public service announcements or messages that are not otherwise prohibited under this Advertising Policy.

• Advertisements concerning products or services that appear to be false, misleading, deceptive or that involve illegal activity, including prostitution, illegal gambling, or the illicit sale of controlled substances.
• Advertisements that are aesthetically inappropriate or otherwise appear unprofessional looking in nature or presentation, that may be offensive to riders or that are reasonably determined not to be in good taste.    

All third party advertisements appearing on the Authority’s property must contain the following disclaimer: “The views and/or opinions expressed by the advertiser are not necessarily those of Port Authority.”  This disclaimer shall appear in a consistent form and manner on all third party advertisements. 

The Authority’s Advertising Policy is intended to be an objective and enforceable standard for advertising that is consistently applied.  It is also the Authority's declared intent not to allow any of its transit vehicles or property to become a public forum for dissemination, debate or discussion of issues that are political, religious, or otherwise prohibited under this Advertising Policy.  Nothing in this Advertising Policy shall be interpreted or construed to prevent the Authority from entering into co-sponsorship agreements with third parties relative to advertisements that the Authority,
in its sole discretion, deems supportive of public transit or otherwise in the best interest of the Authority’s business operations. 

Port Authority’s Advertising Policy shall be deemed adopted and effective as of the date stated below, and it shall apply to all proposed advertisements presented to the Authority and/or advertising contracts entered into between the Authority and a third party advertiser from said effective date forward.  All prior policies of the Authority concerning third party advertising on the Authority’s transit vehicles or property, either written or oral, shall be deemed null and void as of the effective date of this Advertising Policy.   

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