More than 100 MARTA bus shelters damaged costing more than $20K

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - Vandals damaged more than 100 MARTA bus shelters in just one week. They hit stops mostly around Memorial Drive near Columbia Drive in DeKalb County. The damage costs in the tens of thousands of dollars.

The vandal or vandals struck from Dec. 3 through Dec. 10.

Spokesperson Angela Jetty says someone used some type of paint that etches into glass. "It’s a kind of graffiti. It renders the glass impossible to clean," Jetty said.

Vandals just break the glass in some cases. "It’s very dangerous around the shelters. Customers are not able to approach the shelter when there’s that much glass debris around it," Jetty said.

Crews have to replace those panels. "Each glass panel costs $200," Jetty said.

One shelter got hit at least twice. "There has been a shelter that’s already been damaged and replaced. It was four glass panels, so that’s about $800," Jetty said.

The cost of multiple panels at each of the 100 shelters at $200 per panel adds up to $20,000 in damage in just one week.

"It’s really not fair for the customers," Jetty said. Customers depend on the shelters to protect them from the elements. "It is sad to see the vandals are destroying the shelters that people depend on to get shelter from the weather."

Jetty says there is no surveillance video from any of the cases to provide clues about who is doing the damage. She says they are working quickly to clean up the mess that remains at some stations. But it’s taking longer than expected because of the sheer number of shelters along with inclement weather.