A bus which was part of the free Connect electric transport service was found damaged and abandoned yesterday in Killamarsh, north Derbyshire.
It was confirmed by SYMCA (South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority) that two of the vehicles were broken into by thieves at 2am on Monday and that one of the buses was stolen from the interchange.
A SYMCA spokesperson said that the stolen bus sustained “significant damage” and that debris was later found in the Killamarsh area.
The service was launched just last week in a partnership between SYMCA and Sheffield City Council in the hope to provide more accessible transport around the city.
Kevin Carr, Director of South Pennine Community Transport said: “We are working with our partners at SYMCA and Sheffield City Council whilst South Yorkshire Police have begun a full investigation to identify the subjects and bring them to account.”
“We thank you for your understanding and cooperation during what is a very upsetting time for our team.”
Sheffield Connect was launched with hopes to make getting around the city centre quicker and are part of SYMCA’s plans for a greener public transport network.
Sheffield BID, a business-funded organisation that works to improve the commercial trading and working environment, said: “It’s extremely disappointing and concerning to hear what has happened. At the same time, it’s very reassuring to see the service continuing to operate and we hope many visitors to the city centre will enjoy and appreciate the new service during these early days.”
The buses run every 7-8 minutes and stops are located a few minutes away from main active areas in the city, as well as tram and train links.
SYMCA confirmed that the incident has caused “unfortunate” disruptancies on some of the Connect services.
SC2 is continuing to operate as normal and SC1 is currently running every 10 minutes.
