London transit eyes possible 'vandalism-proof' shelters in bid to crack down on broken glass
CBC
A "vandalism-proof" shelter design could help crack down on the issue of London bus shelters being shattered by vandals.
It comes as new figures from the London Transit Commission (LTC) show more than 300 glass panes were broken at city bus shelters last year, up from around 175 in 2022 and 100 in 2021.
Roughly 150 have already been broken this year, according to a report tabled during the LTC's monthly meeting on Wednesday,
"There's obviously a number of reasons why that's concerning, ranging from the safety of Londoners and our service users, also it's very expensive to have to constantly be replacing shelters," Stephanie Marentette, LTC's chair, told CBC News.
Each glass pane costs around $500 to replace, while an entirely new shelter clocks in at around $6,000, according to LTC officials. Cleaning and repairing the shelters falls on Outfront Media, the firm LTC contracts for bus shelter advertising.
Under its current agreement, Outfront is responsible for replacing 120 panels annually – a cap it requested during contract talks last year because of rising vandalism and declining ad revenue.
During Wednesday's meeting, Katie Burns, LTC's director of planning, told commissioners that its shelter contractor was working on a purpose-built, "anti-vandalism" version, with more information expected soon.
The report notes the "vandalism-proof" design would incorporate an "alternative material" to tempered glass, but no further detail is provided. LTC's shelters are made by Toronto-based Daytech Ltd.
The issue isn't restricted to any particular areas, Marentette said, noting the commission receives reports of damaged bus shelters from all corners of the city.
"There's not really any rhyme or reason to it. I think all it takes is one person or a couple of people who just decide that that's what they're going to do," she said.
The problem has plagued the agency for years.
In July 2018, vandals targeted 15 transit shelters in a weekend vandalism spree, while in the summer of 2020, 25 shelters were damaged over several days. In mid-2021, at least 26 shelters were damaged in the span of a week.
Waiting for a bus downtown on Wednesday, transit rider Doug Bradley told CBC News that he'd personally seen damaged bus shelters several times on his travels.
"They just nicely get them put up, and a week later, you know, they're smashed again," he said.
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