Supervisor calls for permanent removal of backfiring sheriff's bus 'terrorizing' San Bruno residents
SAN BRUNO, Calif. - A county supervisor insists a sheriff's office bus that has wreaked havoc on residents in a San Bruno neighborhood as it rolls through be permanently removed from service.
The bus, owned by the San Francisco Sheriff's Office, is responsible for transporting prisoners from its county jail in San Bruno to the courthouse in downtown San Francisco. However, a startling sound has been coming from the bus, rattling residents in the Portola Highlands neighborhood as it passes through.
Surveillance videos over several weeks show the bus traveling down Moreland Drive, emitting loud and constant bangs from backfiring.
In response to inquiries from KTVU about the bus, the San Francisco Sheriff's Office said it has temporarily removed the vehicle from service as a courtesy to residents.
However, San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa says that the bus has been "terrorizing" residents and insists on its complete removal from service.
In a letter addressed to Sheriff Miyamoto, Canepa stressed the need to permanently take the bus out of service "for the safety, mental and physical well-being of my constituents, the inmates, drivers and animals impacted by these explosions."
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Canepa identified the backfiring as a result of an engine combustion issue with the bus.
The supervisors said that "leads to the loss of wasted fuel and wasted taxpayer money not to mention potential negative impacts to the environment. Please do the right thing for my constituents whose quality of life is severely impacted by a bus that shouldn’t be on the road."
He pointed out that backfiring leads to the loss of fuel, taxpayer money, and potential negative environmental impacts.
He urged Sheriff Miyamoto to "do the right thing" for residents, whose quality of life is impacted by the backfiring bus that he believes should not be on the road.
A spokesperson for the sheriff's office previously told KTVU that the bus had undergone repairs before, but the loud noise persisted.
"Our aging fleet, responsible for transporting custodies to court, has not see the addition of new vehicles in four years," the sheriff’s office said. "We have requested funding for new vehicles over the past two years to transport our population safely, but unfortunately, our requests have been denied."
The sheriff's office fleet of transport buses are all older vehicles, with the oldest being a 2001 bus and the newest a 2013.