SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Department of Transportation's fleet of incident management team trucks that primarily patrol Wasatch Front freeways may end up covered with sponsor advertising.

The effort to boost revenues could bring in close to a million dollars, according to a consultant hired after UDOT was unable to take advantage of a 2015 law allowing sponsorships because it excluded the emergency assistance vehicles.

"There was some concern that by advertising on the incident management trucks that it may commercialize a valuable service, that it may confuse drivers," UDOT Policy and Legislative Director Linda Hull told a legislative committee Monday.

But 23 other states or public entities, including turnpike authorities, are now raising money through such sponsorships, Hull said during a meeting of the Legislature's Transportation and Tax Review Task Force.

"We think because of the number of other states that have now been able to successfully step into the patrol service sponsorship program, that perhaps it may be an opportunity for the Legislature to take another look at it," she said.

Hull said the sponsorships could be worth even more than initially projected, depending on whether the advertising would be confined just to the more than a dozen trucks or also posted along the freeway.

She said the law limited UDOT to two types of sponsorships, inside rest areas or traveler's information services, "and there just wasn't enough of a market for those kinds of services to generate real money."

The state spends $3.3 million annually on the incident management program, which includes 13 trucks on duty during the morning and evening weekday commutes along the Wasatch Front and another part-time vehicle in the St. George area.

The Utah Transit Authority reported to the task force that advertising inside and outside buses and light rail, and inside FrontRunner commuter trains, adds about $2.5 million in revenue annually.

Steve Meyer, UTA's interim executive director, showed a picture of a monorail in Las Vegas that was completely covered by the Google logo, noting that covering "every inch" in advertising still meant about $882,000 annually.

The sale of naming rights to more visible transportation in bigger markets are worth more, Meyer said, citing a $2.5 million annual deal to sponsor two bus lines in San Diego over about 30 years.

"We're open to options and looking at all these opportunities as well," Meyer said.

Finding new sources of revenue for transportation, especially transit, is the focus of the task force. Last session, lawmakers passed a sweeping bill that overhauls UTA and, for the first time, shares state transportation funds with transit agencies.

Sen. Wayne Harper, R-Taylorsville, the task force co-chairman, said after the meeting that sponsorships may not be "a major source of revenue but it's something we need to look at. This could offset some future costs or tax increases."

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The task force's other co-chairman, Rep. Kay Christofferson, R-Lehi, told a reporter he wasn't convinced advertising on UDOT incident management team vehicles was a good idea.

"There's a question of whether we cheapen it or not. It might be worth it, if there's quite a bit of money involved," Christofferson said. "If it's not a lot, I'd just as soon keep it professional."

But when it comes to UTA, he said commuters are used to seeing buses and light rail trains wrapped in advertising and "have come to expect that at this point. They're just saying, if this is going to subsidize my transportation, I'm okay with it."

Both Harper and Christofferson said they wanted to hear more from the agencies about actual revenue expectations. The task force is reviewing sales taxes and other transportation funding sources.

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