The Los Angeles City Council plans to vote Friday on a new contract that would give the job of managing city bus benches to another company after the previous one left many without a place to sit.
For nearly ten years Norman Bench Advertising has maintained nearly 6,000 benches in exchange for advertising revenue. But the agency lost its contract after coming under fire from city officials for failing to disclose how many benches it had and how much money it was earning from displaying ads on them.
The company began removing the benches last week, leaving many standing to wait for the bus and angering some city officials.
In a letter, Department of Public Works officials demanded that the company " immediately cease" removing them from bus stops around the city.
"Our primary concern is to minimize inconveniences to bus-riding commuters, and we are working diligently to ensure that new bus benches will be installed as soon as possible," said Board of Public Works Commissioner Andrea Alarcon.
Calls to William Giamela, the owner of Norman Bench Advertising, were not returned.
The city has moved forward with a contract that would give the job of managing its benches to Martin Outdoor Media.
If the new contract is approved, the city may ask Martin Outdoor to install temporary wood-and-concrete benches while permanent steel replacements are constructed, Alarcon told The Los Angeles Times.
In the meantime, "it's the students, it's the elderly, it's the mothers that this is impacting,' she said.
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