FOI request detail

Graffiti at bus stops

Request ID: FOI-4385-1718
Date published: 27 February 2018

You asked

For each of the last four calendar years, I would like to know: a. How many incidents of graffiti on bus stop shelters were reported for cleaning, b. What proportion of them resulted in the shelter being cleaned, c. What proportion of them resulted in a decision to take no action (e.g. to leave the graffiti in place for the time being pending a planned replacement of the shelter), and d. Where cleaning did take place, the average elapsed time between the report being logged and cleaning taking place. If you hold this data in a slightly different form, e.g. for the financial year rather than the calendar year, then I would be happy to receive it in that form.

We answered

Our Ref:         FOI-4385-1718

Thank you for your request received on 2 February 2018 asking for information about graffiti at bus stops.

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm we do hold the information you require. You asked:

a. How many incidents of graffiti on bus stop shelters were reported for cleaning

Reports of graffiti on a bus shelter are submitted to the relevant contactor at 4.00 p.m. on a daily basis. However, racist/offensive graffiti is treated as urgent and our contractors carry out task within four hours after being reported.

Please find the information held below, please note that in January 2017 we changed the system on which these complaints were recorded, therefore there are two sets of data with differing categories:

MSD Cases – (Date Range: 18/01/17 – 09/02/18)
Main Category Explanation Category Explanation Sub-Category Explanation Number of Cases
Accidents, safety and security Safety & Security Bus Stop / Shelter Graffiti/Vandalism/Litter 1
Built environment (on and off-board) Outside of station/Bus Stops: Built Environment Bus Stop / Shelter Graffiti/Vandalism/Litter 171

SAP Service Tickets – (Date Range: 18/01/13 – 18/01/17)
Reason 1 Reason 2 Reason 3 Number of Service Tickets
Stops, Shelters & Stations Bus Stations Bus Stations – Graffiti/cleanliness 91
Stops, Shelters & Stations Bus Stops and Shelters Stops – Graffiti/Cleanliness 591

b. What proportion of them resulted in the shelter being cleaned

Graffiti removal and cleaning are considered as two separate instructions. Our contractors remove graffiti but the shelter is not automatically cleaned at the same time.

c. What proportion of them resulted in a decision to take no action (e.g. to leave the graffiti in place for the time being pending a planned replacement of the shelter), and

Once logged and actioned the graffiti is always removed. The only exception is that some types of graffiti e.g. acid etched/pen type we are unable to physically erase. In this case we replace the panel where budgets permit.

d. Where cleaning did take place, the average elapsed time between the report being logged and cleaning taking place.

Average time between graffiti being reported and removed is between 1 - 3 days. However, once reported, racist/offensive graffiti is removed within 4 hours.

If this is not the information you are looking for please feel free to contact me.

Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.

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