The scourge of glass-etched graffiti on tram shelters across Melbourne is to be stopped in its tracks with the launch of an Australian-first un-graffiti trial.
Backing the trial, the Minister for Public Transport, Ben Carroll said that over the last year, glass-etched graffiti had taken over tram shelters across the city.
“The graffiti, made with specialist glass etching paint, is nearly impossible to remove from tram shelters once applied as the paint quickly eats into the glass shelters and leaves a pale etching which is cut into the glass,” Mr Carroll said.
“With nearly all glass tram shelters now affected by this type of vandalism, Yarra Trams will be installing the anti-graffiti covering to three tram shelters in the city and Thornbury as part of a 12-week trial,” he said.
“The glass covering will obscure existing damage to tram shelters, removing the need for a costly overhaul of dozens of tram shelters across the network.”
Mr Carroll said the trial stops in the CBD and Thornbury had been selected due to the volume of glass-etched graffiti directed at tram infrastructure in the area.
He said the covering would also feature an iconic gum leaf pattern reminiscent of Yarra Trams’ seats.
“The pattern aims to also discourage traditional graffiti by making messages more difficult to read,” the Minister said.
“It can also be easily cleaned and quickly replaced if damaged in any way,” he said.
“It’s the first time in Australia a patterned glass covering has been applied on public transport infrastructure with the aim of preventing glass-etched graffiti.”
Mr Carroll said that if the trial was successful, the anti-graffiti covering would be rolled out across the network to eligible shelters over the course of 2023 and into the future.
