'This behaviour is unacceptable': London, Ont. teens caught on camera smashing bus shelter

On Tuesday, Carol Ann Distler came home to a disturbing sight after a group of teens smashed the bus shelter glass outside of her east London home.

But unfortunately, she said this isn’t the first time this has happened.

“It made my daughter and I look over and I thought it was a bunch of kids messing around. But when I got on my porch and turned around I could see one kid was trying to break the glass,” Distler said.

Surveillance video obtained by CTV News London shows a group of what appears to be teenagers hanging around the bus stop before one person shatters the glass.

“I would never expect young kids to be out here doing this in broad daylight,” she said, explaining that the group also began yelling at her while she was watching.

“After it happened I said, ‘Hey what are you doing?’ And they had no respect for me, they were yelling profanity at me,” she explained.

“It made me feel really scared. I was really worried because I didn’t want them to do anything to us,” said her young daughter, Ashley.

There have been growing concerns over vandalism and repeated incidents of shattered bus shelters, not only impacting neighbours but also commuters who have to take transit regularly.

“You know, a lot of people rely on these bus stops, so it's a shame. And then the money they have to put out to replace these,” said Mary Maracle, a concerned neighbour.

According to the London Transit Commission (LTC), the cost of repairs can add up, as each glass pane costs approximately $500 to replace.

Since January there have been at least over a dozen instances of bus shelters being destroyed, and even more have been targeted this week.

“If it keeps happening they’re going to have to pull the bus stops and then where will everyone go?” Maracle added.

Kelly Paleczny, general manager for the LTC said the ongoing vandalism has been “extremely frustrating” and the LTC asks anyone who witnessed acts of vandalism or has any information to report it to the police.

“LTC makes every effort to have broken glass cleaned up as soon as possible. Plexiglas is not an option as it is prone to scratches and yellowing which make it difficult for bus operators to see people waiting in the shelters,” she said in a statement.

“This behaviour is unacceptable in 2023. We need respect for everybody and city property,” Distler said.