While Graffiti still exists on the CTA, it is limited by the ongoing efforts of the Rail Car Appearance staff (RCA). RCA performs the daily cleaning of the fleet of 1300 cars used on the system. Most of the "damage" done by graffiti is to the interior of cars, however the exteriors are also victims to these "artists". Exterior graffiti is usually done in the storage years, but on occasion the cars are vandalized in service. Graffiti vandals sometimes use inventive ways to damage the cars, such as pump cans loaded with paint so as to cover the car in the matter of seconds. Policy is to remove graffiti cars from service as soon as detected - at the end terminal of the train's trip.

CTA has an extensive array of cameras both in the cars and on station platforms. The rate of apprehension of persons engages in criminal acts has risen as the camera technology improved. The cost of graffiti removal is annually in the tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars. Mooney that could be better spent to improve the service!

Graffiti is a ongoing issue in both urban and rural areas throughout the world. Don't expect it to diminish anytime in the future. Prompt removal denies the perpetrators the exposure that the seem to crave.