A group of protesters who say advertising on Melbourne's public transport network is undemocratic, are tearing down ads while posing as authorised workers.
Dressed in official-looking hi-vis vests, members of a group calling itself "Tram Clean" have removed dozens of posters from tram stops around the city in what they are calling a "theatrical protest".
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Hi-vis protesters rip advertising from public transport
Activist group 'Tram Clean' has pulled dozens of posters from buses, trams and trains, saying advertising on public transport is undemocratic.
Images began circulating on Tuesday of stickers at tram stops left in the place of several missing posters.
"This ad has been deemed destructive and has been removed," it reads, along with a link to the group's website.
Tram Clean alleges for-profit advertising in public spaces is "inherently undemocratic" and say Melbourne's trams, trains and buses have become "canvases for corporate entities".
It is unclear how long Tram Clean have been operating nor who their members are.
"We are reclaiming power and agency in the face of the corporate dominance of public space," the website reads.
"The invasion of for-profit advertising on public transport silences the voices and interests of everyday people, for it is the voice of the non-human corporations that dominates the public sphere."
"As citizens we have not consented to having our public space invaded by the advertising of corporate entities interested only in generating profit."
Tram Clean protesters say they are reclaiming power in the public space. Photo: A screenshot from tramclean.wordpress.com
Members of the group wear vests with a logo which reads "Ad hel", a play on the name of advertising agency Adshel.
On their website, the group boast the vests are "extremely effective camouflage" that have conned both Yarra Trams customer service employees and tram drivers.
The cost of advertising on Melbourne's public transport network can reach in the hundreds of thousands.
Advertising on the public transport network can cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Photo: A screenshot from tramclean.wordpress.com
JCDecaux, one of Australia's major outdoor advertising agencies, charges between $169,000 and $194,350 a week for strategically placed ads in high-pedestrian rail and retail environments in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney.
A Yarra Trams spokesman said advertising helped subsidise public transport fares.
"Advertising is commonplace on public transport networks across the world, helping to run more services and reducing the cost to passengers," he said.
Public Transport Users Association spokesman Daniel Bowen said advertising on trams and trains had become intrusive, obscuring commuters from seeing which platform they were at or where available seats were.
But Mr Bowen also acknowledged the loss of advertising dollars due to the efforts of anti-advertising protesters could impact on the bottom line of Yarra Trams and Metro Trains.
"There's lots of money involved across the network and if all that disappeared overnight, certainly there would be a shortfall somewhere and public transport operators would need to ask the government to cover that," he said.
"At least the money does subsidise public transport and that's been the case for a while.
"It's not new but what people do object to is where it's really in your face and the covering up of windows which tends to be increasing on trains."
A Metropolitan Melbourne bus shelter contract between advertising giant Adshel and the now-defunct Director of Public Transport restricts advertising which is political, religious, racist or sexually explicit.
There is no clearly-stated legislation regarding where or how much advertising is placed at bus shelters.
"There is a place for advertising on the system," Mr Bowen said.Â
"It does help subsidise the service but the government should restrict it so it doesn't cover windows and we don't want to see very obtrusive advertising in people's faces."
On their website, Tram Clean encourages people to contact them to be provided with advertising box keys and hi-vis vests.
Minister for Transport Jacinta Allan's office and Adshel declined to comment.
Clean Trams and JCDecaux have been contacted for comment.
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