RTD Issues Warning on Defacing Buses
Los Angeles Rapid Transit District officials announced Friday that riders caught defacing buses will have their monthly passes revoked.
The planned crackdown, intended to reduce the $8-million annual vandalism toll on the RTD, will not begin until the agency augments its 65-officer police force, RTD board President Gordana Swanson said at a press conference, where she was joined by General Manager Alan Pegg.
Swanson said much of the vandalism is witnessed by other riders, but the RTD police force is too understaffed to follow up on complaints.
The crackdown, Swanson said, is expected to begin at the start of the next school year. Students, who generally ride on their reduced-rate passes, are believed to be responsible for much of the vandalism, officials have said.
In an 11-point vandalism-abatement plan released last month, the RTD recommended such action as a statewide legislative effort to dedicate funds for graffiti removal and prevention and expansion of the police Graffiti Task Force.
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