DETROIT – The Detroit Bus Company is working on repairs Friday after thieves stole catalytic converters from the buses.
The thieves must’ve really wanted the converters because they left in a hurry, but they left some of their tools behind.
When they fired up their brand new bus, the guys at Detroit Bus Company knew the sound they heard only meant one thing.
“Well, we were robbed,” said Shane O’Connor of Detroit Bus Company on TikTok. “Yup, it finally happened. Someone broke into the Detroit Bus Company and stole a bunch of our catalytic converters. About $15,000 worth.”
The thieves cut through their fence to get a hold of the items and they left behind some pretty heavy tools.
“They just cut through it,” said Andy Didorosi of Detroit Bus Company. “They left razors and a jack to get under our buses. It was two guys.”
You can see and hear in the video player above the sound of the thieves cutting off catalytic converters from the buses, which ultimately cuts off rides to school to thousands of Detroit kids starting school on Monday.
“This takes from the kids,” O’Conner said. “We get kids to schools and programs. That’s what it does. We move tens of thousands of kids every month to get to programs to low and no-cost services, and now this just comes out of them. This means less rides for them. We have to pay to fix these buses.”
“We basically have to work all night to fix them and find parts, all hands on deck even to meet our obligation,” Didorosi said.
“We’re going to fix these things up, and we’re going to get rolling again,” O’Connor said. “That’s the Detroit way, and we will be there on Monday.”
Detroit Bus Company says they have good surveillance footage of the thieves, which they have handed over to the Detroit Police Department.