OCTA to Spend More on Covering Graffiti

The Orange County Transportation Authority has stepped up efforts to combat graffiti, including a budget increase of $489,000 to remove markings from facilities and buses.

OCTA officials said more needs to be done to overcome a recent rise in graffiti, which costs the authority $10,000 to $70,000 a month to remove. “This is a very serious problem. It cannot be overemphasized,” said Art Leahy, OCTA’s chief executive officer. “Our customers view graffiti as threatening. We need to deny the people who do this the benefit of their work -- that is the ability to see it.”