About three years ago, the agency started a pilot program to combat those blemishes, covering bus and train windows with a protective film to prevent future scratching. It appeared to work, but it also cost more than $2.5 million a year.
Now the MTA is canceling that pilot program, part of its plan to fill a more than $400 million budget gap. And some fear the scratchiti scourge will return in full force.
“My sense is people put their tags on things because they want other people to see them,” said Bill Henderson, the executive director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA.
“If you remove what they’ve done, there’s less of an incentive to put your tag on something.”
