An NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit found that 95 decommissioned VTA paratransit vehicles sat for more than four years in the agency’s South Bay lots, eventually becoming a target of catalytic converter thieves.
On top of standard vehicle depreciation, multiple sources told NBC Bay Area thieves targeted the decommissioned fleet for their catalytic converters in 2022.
“Usually what happens after the vehicles get decommissioned, the vehicles get put on an auction, or they get resold for other uses,” said Circella. “Something went wrong with the process of retiring them from active duty,” said Giovanni Circella, Ph.D., UC Davis transportation expert.
