In subsequent discussions, Davey, the T's former general manager, and the current GM, Jonathan R. Davis, talked about the issue and agreed with the points raised by the youth group, T spokesman Joe Pesaturo said.
Pesaturo said the T's advertising contractor, Titan, has told the debt-laden transit agency it expects ad revenue to decline by approximately $1.5 million in the first full year of the alcohol ad ban.
"The company, however, says it will work diligently to find other advertisers for the available space on MBTA property," Pestauro said via e-mail.
The only other major public transit systems in the country that allow alcohol ads are those in New York City and Chicago, according to Michael Scippa, spokesman for California-based watchdog organization Alcohol Justice, which until last July was known as "The Marin Institute."
Scippa called the T's alcohol ad ban a "major victory" and said he believes the financially struggling transit agency could recoup the lost revenue from other advertising sources.
"That space is easily rented to another company, another product," Scippa said by phone today. "The space is valuable. It's valuable to any advertiser."
Alcohol ads are currently allowed to run, and in the past have appeared, on all MBTA property, including at transit stations and stops as well as inside and on the exterior of subway cars, trains and buses. The MBTA already prohibits tobacco, firearms, violence, and nudity from advertisements on its property.
The agency has said previously it had no plans to bar alcohol ads. But the T has been subjected to scrutiny from lawmakers and advocacy groups, including the Allston-Brighton Substance Abuse Task Force and Supporting an Alcohol Ad-Free Environment in Massachusetts, or SAFE MA.
This past summer, youths from SAFE MA presented the transportation secretary with postcards and petitions of support from over 300 Bay State residents, officials said.
Earlier this year, when the MBTA began selling ads on its website, the agency said it would not allow on-line alcohol advertisement.
