Creating the world’s largest outdoor gallery on the world’s largest tram network
Yarra Trams has transformed vandalised tram shelters into immersive community art experiences that elevate the customer journey. Through collaboration with the state government, artists, and cultural leaders, Melbourne’s most heavily vandalised shelters are being turned into beacons of pride.
About this Project
The Art Tram Stops initiative arose in response to a growing challenge: permanent chemical glass etching graffiti. This initiative not only combats this blight—it reimagines it.
Chemical glass graffiti—where acid or etching tools scar glass—is uniquely destructive. It permanently defaces surfaces, can’t be cleaned like standard graffiti, and often requires full glass replacement. It not only degrades asset condition but significantly affects perceptions of safety, cleanliness, and pride in the network.
For many operators, this leads to a cycle of reactive maintenance that consumes budget and erodes passenger trust. Melbourne has not been immune. Since 2020, Yarra Trams has seen an uptick in glass etching incidents across its 1,700+ stops.
Initially installed on 34 shelter panels along Collins Street and expanding rapidly, the Art Tram Stops initiative merges anti-graffiti technology with place-based design.
Key Highlights
Yarra Trams developed a new strategy: replace or overlay glass with durable anti-graffiti vinyl printed with curated, site-specific artwork. This not only protected shelters from further damage but turned them into visually compelling, culturally meaningful spaces.
In traditional responses, vandalised glass was either removed or replaced—a costly and time-consuming process. Anti-graffiti coatings helped but were not widely used due to limitations in performance and availability.
This initiative is more than beautification—it’s place activation. It represents a conscious shift from reactive maintenance to proactive placemaking.
MOVIMEX cards promote financial inclusion, providing banking services while offering transit benefits. Integrated across Mexicable, Metro, and Metrobus, it creates a unified mobility network.
NFC contactless payments and traditional readers demonstrate technological sophistication, enhancing convenience and accessibility for all users.
Facts & Figures
- At stops with art installed, graffiti tags decreased by 28% and the size of graffiti reduced by 30%.
- At Collins Street stops featuring artwork, Passenger Experience Ratings (PXR) rose by 5%.
- Cleanliness, a critical driver of overall satisfaction, improved by 8% at pilot locations according to CXI (Customer Experience Index) cleanliness scores.
- Feedback gathered directly from passengers confirmed these results, with over 90% of surveyed individuals supporting the expansion of the upgrades.
