A few weeks ago, we told you about the proposal to place very large electronic signs at each of Austin’s thousands of bus stops.  At that time the case was withdrawn, but it is back and on Thursday’s Council agenda (item #83).

Austin entered into a contract with IKE Smart City in the fall of 2025 for 50 downtown kiosks before there was any public input.  This contract is conditioned on changes to the sign ordinance. The Planning Commission did not approve the revised sign ordinance (4-4 vote), and the Environmental Commission unanimously opposed it.  The Environmental Commission issued this strong rebuke of the proposed ordinance change:

  •  The City uphold the current code regarding billboards and digital signs and not weaken or change it.
  •  Ensure no digital billboards are allowed within the City’s limits.

The IKE Smart City kiosks have been described as 8-foot-tall iPads to help users with transit and locating restaurants or entertainment options.  Unlike a smart phone which has the same functionality, the kiosks will also display paid advertisements with some of the revenue going to the City of Austin.

The IKE Smart City kiosks in Berkeley, CA have free wifi, directories of local businesses, as well as maps and transit information. But those features are only used 2% of the day and 98% of the day the kiosks simply display a rotating sequence of advertisements.

If approved, these giant ( 86 inches diagonally) electronic signs could be placed at all 2500 neighborhood bus stops as well as a growing number of bikeshare kiosks.

Additionally, the kiosks will take up valuable space in the Austin downtown right of way for the purpose of generating advertising revenue.  That space should be reserved for pedestrians, micro mobility, and street trees.   There is NOTHING in the draft code controlling the content of advertisement on the the 1000s of new digital signs.

Aside from the wasted space and energy that will clutter the public right of way with digital advertising, the kiosks are a privacy and public safety concern.  The IKE Smart City kiosks in San Diego do not collect data.  Instead, they use a service called Placer.ai to ensure advertisers can target the right demographic groups.  Placer puts its tracking technology into millions of devices and hundreds of applications.  Using Placer.ai or a similar service enables IKE Smart City to claim they don’t use surveillance or artificial intelligence, but it does not alleviate the privacy and safety concerns associated with the kiosks.