ATLANTA — MARTA police are investigating a recent rash of vandalism at bus station shelters in Atlanta and DeKalb County.
The transit agency told Channel 2 Action News that between Dec. 1 and Dec. 10, vandals smashed glass wall panels and painted graffiti on more than 100 bus stop shelters, many in the area of Memorial Drive.
“It’s crazy for something to happen like that. People need to be more considerate,” Kewon Holland told Channel 2′s Tom Regan.
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Holland, who said he does standup comedy, often rides MARTA. The bus shelter where he usually waits is no longer much of a shelter. All the glass panels have been smashed out.
“Anyone who has to wait for the bus, you’re going to be freezing man. Feels like Antarctica,” said Holland.
MARTA said the graffiti paint used is a liquid that etches the glass panels and cannot be removed. The agency said many of the glass panels cost $200 to replace. The damage to the shelters will run into the thousands of dollars.
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“I’ve just seen so many things just vandalized, trashed up,” MARTA rider Derrick Benson told Channel 2 Action News.
Benson and other riders suspect the vandals are young people, that may not use MARTA.
“I just think that it’s really like careless. We need the shelters to keep us from the weather and everything. So, I think it’s careless,” said MARTA rider Shanice Allen.
MARTA hasn’t made any arrests in the recent rash of vandalism. Identifying suspects will be difficult.
Most bus stop shelters do not have security cameras, and much of the vandalism is done late at night. MARTA also doesn’t know if the property damage was carried out by a group of vandals or individuals.
MARTA told Channel 2 Action News it recently spent 800 dollars to repair one vandalized bus shelter, but vandals returned and damaged the shelter a second time. Anyone with information about the vandalism is asked to call MARTA police.
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