Turning Bus Screens into Revenue: Locatify’s New Advertising System for Coaches

Every day, thousands of passengers travel between Keflavík Airport and Reykjavík on Flybus, or on guided tours around Iceland. Most of these buses already have screens and sound systems on board, and those screens can offer passengers much more.

Together with Icelandia, which operates Flybus and Gray Line in Iceland, Locatify has developed an advertising system that turns on-board screens into a managed media channel. Bus operators can run scheduled advertisements, combine them with GPS-triggered destination information, and update everything remotely from Locatify Builder.

Icelandia Flybus coach equipped for onboard passenger information

Why advertising on buses makes sense

Coach passengers are an ideal audience. They are seated, they have time, and many of them are travellers looking for things to do, places to eat and experiences to book. For bus operators, the screens are already installed, so the main costs are already covered. An advertising system can create a new revenue stream from advertisers, promote the operator’s own tours and services, and give passengers a better journey at the same time.

Passenger on a coach with onboard information displays

How it works on board

The system runs on a high-end, internet-connected Android tablet with GPS and high video resolution, connected to the bus’s existing screen and audio system. It is a dedicated solution, so it is not published in the Play Store, and the device can be locked for this use only.

The app shows three types of content on the bus screens:

  • Advertising playlist: a video playlist that plays advertisements at a set interval.
  • Information points: content tied to specific locations, with text, audio and images.
  • Map: shown whenever no advertisement or information point is playing.

When the driver takes over the bus, the process is simple:

  • The driver selects the route in the app on the tablet, for example KEF–REY or REY–KEF. This is the only step the driver takes. From then on, everything plays on the passenger screens: the route appears on a map, and a short introduction audio confirms that the trip has started.
  • Advertisements start playing from a video playlist set up for that route. They play in order at a predefined interval, for example every 10 minutes, and the playlist starts again from the beginning if the trip is longer than the list.
  • A live map fills the gaps. Between advertisements, the screen shows the bus’s real-time position and route.
  • Destination information takes priority. When the bus reaches a predefined location, a GPS-triggered information point automatically interrupts the ad and shows text and images and plays audio about the place. When it finishes, the advertisement resumes where it left off.
  • The trip ends automatically. A final GPS point closes the trip, and the screen goes dark or shows the company’s logo. The device is then ready for the driver to select the next route.

Drivers only need to choose a route. Everything else happens automatically on the passenger screens, so their attention stays on the road.

Locatify map interface displaying GPS-based tour locations and route information

Managing the content in Locatify Builder

All content is managed by the operator’s own staff in Locatify Builder, our content management system. In the system, the tour designer will draw up the route, set departure and destination points, prepare the video playlists and such.

The video advertisement playlist is a new feature Locatify developed in cooperation with Icelandia. The user prepares a playlist and uploads the media. The video playlists are then associated with the tours (routes) to play at given intervals.

  • which ads video playlist to play on which routes
  • the order of ads in each playlist
  • the interval between the videos

Updates are published from Locatify Builder and downloaded automatically by the tablets over the internet. A new campaign can go live across the fleet without anyone touching the devices.

When new or changed content is published, the update is automatically downloaded to the bus’s Android device when it has an Internet connection. The bus app doesn’t need a network connection to operate as it will have all the content pre-downloaded.

Sightseeing tour bus for tourism experiences

Data for advertisers

The app is connected to Firebase Analytics, which will record usage, such as how often each route is played during the day. No personal information is collected, only data on how the app is used. This gives operators data they can share with advertisers and use to price advertising space.

Cost-effective by design

The solution was built to keep costs low for bus operators:

  • It runs on a single Android tablet per bus, connected to the screens and sound systems already installed, so there is no need for additional on-board hardware.
  • Content and app updates are handled remotely.
  • The device is connected to the bus’s WiFi network or has a SIM card to download the content and updates.
  • One system covers both advertising and guided information, so operators don’t need separate solutions.
  • Locatify installed and configured the app on the first device and trained the operator’s technician to set up the rest of the fleet.

Delivered on schedule

The project with Icelandia was delivered as planned, with the first version ready for testing by the end of September 2026. Icelandia plans to roll out the system in 60 buses. Icelandia supplied its own branding and content, and the app was branded to match its visual identity.

“Working with Locatify on our on-board screen solution has been a smooth and productive partnership. The team listened to our needs, kept us informed throughout and delivered on schedule. The result is a system that is simple for our drivers and turns our bus screens into a channel for both destination information and advertising.”

– Vigdís Guðjohnsen, Marketing Manager, Icelandia

What’s next: AI translations and text-to-speech

Locatify is in the process of releasing automatic AI translation and text-to-speech services as part of the Locatify Builder. The AI features will speed up the process of making routes, language translations and generate voice narrations.

Operators will be able to write destination information once and publish it in several languages with natural-sounding narration. This will make it even easier to offer guided content to international passengers.

Interested in this solution on your buses?

If you operate scheduled coaches or guided tours and want to get more value from your on-board screens, we would love to hear from you. Contact Locatify to find out how the advertising system can work for your fleet.