-----Original Message-----
From: Roderick Smith [mailto:rodsmith@werple.net.au]
Sent: Sunday, 19 March 2017 10:28 AM
To: 'transportdownunder@yahoogroups.com'
Subject: snippets, Sun.19.3.17

Melbourne Tramways Band today, 14.30, Wattle Park, 'An afternoon at the
proms'.
Tram tour today, 9.30 ex St Vincents Plaza (Melbourne, Vic.), mystery route.

<www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/treasures-unearthed-dig-reveals-early-me
lbourne-artefacts/news-story/68b47476d9dc20572d25f3fec08fd1ba>

Enclosed:
161025Tu Melbourne 'Herald Sun' - South Yarra.

170319Su Melbourne'HeraldSun':
- letters (energy and timber). [with tdu].
- taxi ranks.

Roderick

Graffiti attacks on buses costing Transdev $1 million a year to clean up.
Manningham Leader March 19, 2017.
A DONCASTER commuter says constant graffiti attacks on Manningham buses are
making them look the worst he has seen in 35 years of travel.
David Robertson's complaint comes as bus operator Transdev, which services
Manningham and other parts of Melbourne, revealed it spent more than $1
million a year removing graffiti from its fleet.
A Transdev bus covered in graffiti. Picture: Kylie Else.
And with nearly half its buses housed at the Doncaster depot, its managing
director Harry Wijers said its mobile graffiti response team was revising
its strategy to deal with the problem.
Mr Robertson, a Public Transport Users Association member, said he had seen
graffiti and grime on nearly every bus he had travelled on in the past 12
months during his daily weekday commute to the city.
"I've been using the system in Manningham heading to the city for a long
time and I've never seen it like it is," he said.
"Every bus has some sort of graffiti on it or you can see the remnants of
trying to clean it off."
Drivers who see vandals in action are powerless to act. Picture: Kylie Else
Mr Wijers said graffiti was "a huge issue" for the company, with about 80
per cent of its fleet vandalised at any given time.
Transdev has 505 buses in its fleet, with 210 stationed at its Doncaster
depot.
"Basically, as soon as it's cleaned off, it reappears," he said.
"Even if a driver sees someone vandalising their bus, there is very little
they can do about it."
Constant attacks on the buses mean they have to be deep cleaned once a
month. Picture: Kylie Else.
Mr Wijers said staff cleaned graffiti off buses daily.
He said all buses had to be deep cleaned once a month and some required a
repaint or a respray, costing $5000 each time.
Mr Wijers said the company had CCTV on its buses to try and identify
offenders and was also trialling different paint surfaces and interiors to
deter taggers.
Transdev spokeswoman Kate Rasmussen said drivers were not supposed to leave
their seats to engage with vandals but reported graffiti at the end of their
shifts. They could also alert TransDev's operations team to any incidents
via internal radio, who then referred the matter to police..
A Victoria Police Media spokesman said Manningham Crime Investigation Unit
and Transit Police did not have any recent reports of graffiti on buses.
Graffiti vandals spray last Hitachi train.
<www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/east/graffiti-attacks-on-buses-costing-transdev
-1-million-a-year-to-clean-up/news-story/0b516bb34e0a4256f0a8a26e7b0b9409>
with four photos, mainly tags on walls and seat backs, plus scratched
windows.