Bus shelter vandals leave officials at wits' end

More than three-quarters of new bus shelters installed in George‚ in the southern Cape‚ have been vandalised.

More than three-quarters of new bus shelters installed in George‚ in the southern Cape‚ have been vandalised.

George Municipality said on Tuesday the destruction of the R52‚000 Go George bus shelters had reached a “critical” stage‚ leaving officials at their wits’ end.

“Of the 68 shelters already installed‚ 52 have been vandalised. This includes 83 glass panels [sides and/or back] and seven Perspex panels that have been broken or removed‚ and 33 panels that have been defaced by graffiti‚” the municipality said in a statement.

“The department of civil engineering has a hard time keeping up with the removal of dangerous shards‚ while repair work is waiting for the results of several materials being tested to replace those that are constantly vandalised.

“This is also delaying the schedule of shelter installation‚ since another 44 shelter frames are waiting in the factory to be finished off with the chosen panels before they can be installed.”

The municipality said it was experimenting with perforated steel‚ Perspex‚ Plexiglass and solid steel as replacement materials for glass.

“According to the shelter designers‚ the original glass panels consist of three layers of glass that would definitely not be broken by a young person throwing a stone‚ but would take a concerted effort with heavy objects to do the kind of damage that can be seen at the vandalised shelters‚” said the statement.

“The initial strong glass panels were chosen for safety reasons to ensure visibility of passengers inside the shelter‚ as well as passengers’ need to see oncoming buses. These practical‚ and in some cases legal‚ prescriptions might have to be altered just to keep the shelters in one piece.”

George municipal manager Trevor Botha said the vandals’ real victims were members of their communities. “The cost of one bus shelter is R52‚000‚ excluding preparation of the site and installation. Investigation‚ getting quotations and repair work on damaged shelters take time‚ and until this is concluded passengers are the victims who are inconvenienced and exposed to the elements.”