Melbourne: how art is transforming the wait for the tram

Along Collins Street, one of Melbourne's busiest thoroughfares, waiting for the tram now feels like a visit to a gallery. Where etched and tagged glass once degraded the experience, shelters are now wrapped in works by local artists. This is the principle behind Art Stops, the initiative led by Yarra Trams to turn Melbourne's tram network into a genuine open-air art gallery.

Graffiti is a challenge shared by every major transport network, from Berlin and Amsterdam to New York and Toronto. But one of its forms is especially destructive: chemical etching. Using acid or etching tools, it permanently scars the glass it cannot be cleaned, and most often the entire panel has to be replaced.

Since 2020, the phenomenon has intensified across the network's roughly 1,700 stops. At the worst-affected locations, perceived cleanliness fell below 65% on the Customer Experience Index (CXI), and several stops no longer met contractual standards. And the stop experience is no small thing: it accounts for 28% of the overall Passenger Experience Regime (PXR) score, with a stop seen as neglected penalising the most vulnerable passengers first  older people, tourists and travellers with accessibility needs.

Rather than endlessly replacing damaged glass  a costly, slow response Yarra Trams changed its approach. The solution: cover the surfaces with durable anti-graffiti vinyl printed with artworks designed specifically for each site. The shelters are protected from further damage and turned into meaningful spaces.

Launched in 2024 at six landmark stops along Collins Street, the pilot wrapped 34 shelter panels in works by First Nations artists. Selected through the Transporting Arts programme, they were invited to explore themes of culture, journey, place and protection. Developed hand in hand with the Department of Transport and Planning, artists and cultural leaders, it is less a maintenance exercise than an act of place activation shifting the network from a reactive logic to the proactive shaping of public space

Building on these results, Yarra Trams is now opening its stops to the city's major institutions. The idea: offer a cultural partner a curated art space at the stop outside their door. The aim is not advertising it is to aid wayfinding and animate the surroundings of these landmark locations.

The first partner is the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), a cultural icon of the city, whose artwork was installed in August 2025. Under this model, partners cover the design, installation and upkeep of the works: the network enriches the passenger experience without adding to its costs. A simple framework, directly replicable by other networks around the world.

By turning the wait for the tram into an encounter with art, Yarra Trams shows that a modest investment in the passenger environment can deliver tangible gains in safety, cleanliness and collective pride. A success Transdev's teams fully intend to spread beyond Melbourne.