T may install TV network to raise funds

Page 2 of 2 -- ''The more we tune out [commercials], the more important it is for advertisers to try and reach us, and that adds to the clutter that already exists," said Andrew Rohm, an assistant professor of marketing at Northeastern University.

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In Orlando, Chicago, and Milwaukee, the technology is advanced enough that advertising for businesses along the route can pop up as the bus passes, such as a McDonald's restaurant, with a commercial featuring directions for walkers.

The changes have not come without resistance, however. In Milwaukee, riders complained that the televisions were too loud. Speakers were replaced to bring the sound down.

Mulhern, who is retiring June 1, said the next general manager as well as the T's board would have final say over whether the new system moves forward. The authority is seeking bids by May 1 from transit television providers.

Yesterday, at the JFK/UMass Station on the Red Line, riders were less than enthusiastic.

''That would really be a distraction," said Orlando Mebane, 53, of North Quincy, as he waited for a train.

Said Darrell Murphy, 37, of East Boston, ''I'm too busy resting my eyes in the morning going to work, and I'm too busy sleeping on the way home to notice."

Mulhern said the television system might help the T elsewhere. The complete network, installed at no cost to the MBTA, could make clearer stop and service-change announcements at stations. Riders have long complained about the frequently inaudible announcements made via the T's antiquated intercom.

Mulhern predicted that the system could expand beyond the Red, Blue, and Orange lines, but he said problems on the Green Line -- especially involving the trouble-prone Breda cars -- are a bigger priority than television service on that line. On commuter rail, a bigger priority is fixing electronic station signs, he said.

In another move to raise revenue, the authority plans to resurrect an effort to grant commercial naming-rights to the Route 128 commuter rail stop, in which advertisers have recently expressed interest. The T plans to ask for bids for the rights around May 1.

An effort in 2000 to sell naming-rights to downtown subway stations failed to attract advertiser interest. ''We think unlike the subway stations, there's more of an upside to it and less of a downside," Mulhern said. ''We think it's definitely worth exploring."