One local bus company had problems on the first day of school, thanks to some vandalism overnight.

Vandals stole fuses and relay switches from about two dozen school buses at the Sinton Landmark compound in Barrie.

“Did this person or people know what they were doing? It’s quite possible or they just knew that it was electrical and pulling it would disable the vehicle,” said fleet manager Kevin Pettit. “

How the vandals broke in the fenced in compound and how they stole the parts remains a mystery. The doors to the fuse boxes on the buses were not locked and there are no surveillance cameras at the bus yard.

Barrie police say the vandalism happened sometime after the yard closed Monday.

Bus drivers knew there was something wrong this morning when school bus doors wouldn’t open, head lights wouldn’t turn on and some buses wouldn’t even start. 

Despite the slow start, staff at the yard was able to find replacement parts and get the school buses on the roads before the first bell.

“We took pieces out of the shop that we have an inventory of and got busses running,” said Christine Johnson, director of safety and education.  “We also took pieces out of old buses that aren’t on runs and we took spare buses and put drivers in those, she said.

Damage is estimated at $2,000 and Sinton-Landmark’s general manager drove to Hamilton to get all the replacement parts.