Police in London, Ont., have launched an investigation after 22 bus shelters were damaged in the city over the course of four days.
The first reports came in on Friday, May 28, when police learned 16 bus shelters had been damaged that day. The damage included panes of glass being smashed, according to police.
An additional report came in three days later of six bus shelters having been damaged between May 29 and May 31.
Kelly Paleczny, general manager for the London Transit Commission (LTC), told Global News it costs about $2,500 to repair all panes of glass in a bus shelter.
“However, that cost isn’t a direct cost to LTC because we’ve got a contract for the repair and maintenance of our shelters with a shelter advertising company,” Paleczny said.
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“At some point, that cost will come back to us because the costs are balanced against the advertising that the company we contract with is able to place in those shelters.”
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Damaged bus shelters have long been a common occurrence in London and Paleczny said 22 of them over the course of four days is nothing new.
“It seems to go in waves where either an entire route or an entire area of the city is targeted … either in an overnight spree or within a short time frame, like this one has been,” Paleczny said.
The general manager added that another common occurrence has been receiving questions as to why the LTC doesn’t swap out glass panes for another material like plexiglass.
The issue with other materials, Paleczny said, is they’re easily scratched and are prone to clouding, which can make a bus shelter an unsafe environment.
“You want people to be able to see that you’re standing in that shelter (and) you don’t want activity happening in that shelter that’s sheltered from everything that’s around it,” Paleczny said.
“You also need them to be visible as the operator is approaching so that they’re aware that somebody is in that shelter waiting for the bus.”
As of Friday morning, investigators have not identified a suspect and are appealing to the public for help in finding the person or persons responsible.
Anyone with information that may help investigators is asked to contact London police at (519) 661-5670 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
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