BUS TERRORS RUIN 80 SEATS A DAY
SBS Transit spends $1m a year fixing vandalised buses
OTHER passengers were staring at her, but she just ignored them as
she continued to deface a bus seat with a marker pen.
Finally, four boys couldn't take it any more and reported her to
the bus driver.
The 14-year-old girl was detained and the case referred to the
police.
She is among teenage bus terrors whose acts of vandalism costs SBS
Transit, the biggest public bus operator here, about $1 million
every year.
On average, these vandals hit up to 20 SBS Transit buses
daily.
The most common acts involve scribbling of graffiti on the walls or
the back of bus seats, slashing of seats and damaging aircon
vents.
SMASH, BASH
But there have also been cases of vandals smashing bus windows or
damaging property at bus interchanges.
Two teenage boys were caught breaking hoarding boards at Toa Payoh
bus interchange this month.
The seats on SBS Transit buses have been prime targets of vandals
who slash and draw on them regularly. Sometimes, even the windows
get smashed.
SBS Transit told The New Paper that it has to bear the cost of
fixing and cleaning up damage caused by vandals on buses and bus
interchanges.
It says about 540 buses, about 20 per cent of its operating fleet
of 2,700 buses, are vandalised every month.
SBS Transit spokesman Tammy Tan said: 'Seats are especially prone
to acts of vandalism, and an average of 2,500 seat covers or
cushions are cut or scrawled with graffiti every month.'
That works out to be more than 80 seats a day.
Ms Tan added: 'Such anti-social behaviour is costing us an
estimated $1m every year. The money is used for cleaning and
repairing damaged property.'
On 20 Sep, a teenage girl was caught vandalising a seat on a
service number 88 bus along Punggol Road, around 2.30pm.
The 14-year-old was so brazen that she drew on the seat of a
double-decker in full view of other passengers.
One Secondary One student, 13, told The New Paper that the girl was
with three friends and sat near the back on the upper deck.
He said: 'She took out a green whiteboard marker and wrote on the
seat.'
He felt uncomfortable with what he saw. He later discussed this
with his friends and agreed to tell the bus captain what they had
seen.
'We won't feel good if we didn't report it,' said the boy.
Another boy, 12, said: 'We were quite shocked when we saw her do
it... If we didn't report the matter, they would go on to other
buses and vandalise again.
'Even though she knew we were there, she still continued to do it.
It's totally unacceptable.'
SBS Transit said it has referred the case to the police for further
action.
Ms Tan also cited two other recent incidents. On 31 Aug and on 3
Sep, someone damaged the aircon outlets.
Ms Tan said: 'Twenty-nine eyeballs were removed from the aircon
outlets on two of our double-deck buses plying service 222. These
eyeballs enable commuters to adjust the airflow from the aircon
outlet.'
Click to see larger image
The culprit escaped as the bus captains discovered the damage only
later. It is not known if the same person was behind both two
cases.
There have also been occasions where vandals have slashed rows of
cushioned seats in buses.
Ms Tan said: 'Even new buses have not been spared. Some buses that
are less than a month old have had their seats slashed.'
A check with SMRT Buses, which has a fleet of about 800 buses,
revealed that vandalism on their buses is 'rare'.
An SMRT spokesman said that when it occurs, the vandalism includes
'damaged seat handles and cushion covers, damaged or missing
vehicle plates, removal of the hammers used for breaking the glass
to the emergency exit handles, as well as graffiti'.
Some vandals target the bus interchanges, such as two boys, aged 13
and 15, who damaged hoarding boards at Toa Payoh bus interchange
around 5.45pm on 3 Sep.
The boards were used to cordon off an area that was under
renovation.
The teenagers ran away but were eventually caught by a staff member
on patrol and the police were called in.
A route master at the interchange, Mr Chua Aik Ngwen, 45, said:
'The boards are strong and not easily broken, even if someone were
to accidentally fall on them.'
He added: 'The boys could have injured themselves, the workers or
other passengers, especially since it was at a peak hour.
'It's quite lucky the piece fell inward rather than out, and no
worker was behind the board.'
The New Paper understands the younger boy is in Secondary One,
while the other stopped attending school last year.
The bus company has informed the school.
DISCIPLINED
When contacted, its vice-principal said: 'We will do whatever we
can to counsel the student.
'He may be caned, or face other punishment that the school deems
fit, depending on the outcome of investigations and after talking
to the boy and his parents.'
Under the law, those convicted of vandalism can be fined up to
$2,000, or jailed up to three years. They can also be given three
to eight strokes of the cane.
SBS Transit's Ms Tan said: 'We seek the cooperation of commuters to
keep our buses and interchanges vandalism-free so that all
commuters can have a more pleasant journey.
'We appeal to commuters to alert our staff immediately should they
witness such a crime in progress.'
