WEST PALM BEACH — Thieves have stolen nearly three dozen catalytic converters from Palm Tran Connection vehicles parked at a contractor in West Palm Beach.

The emission-control devices, 33 in all, were likely stolen sometime overnight between Friday and Saturday, said Palm Tran spokesperson Joseph Harrington.

Palm Tran offers its on-call, shared ride, door-to-door Connection service for residents who are eligible under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Rides are typically used for grocery store trips, medical visits or sometimes by students.

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The impacted vehicles were parked at one of Palm Tran's contractors, MV Transportation, on Electronics Way in West Palm Beach, which provides drivers for the Connection service. The business is located just south of Palm Tran's office.

Harrington said crews are working to make repairs to the vehicles, but Connection users should expect "significant delays" and urged them to plan for this or make alternative transportation plans in the meantime. Palm Tran will post updates on its website and social media channels. The West Palm Beach Police Department is investigating, Harrington said.

Catalytic converters use three types of metal to produce a chemical reaction that converts harmful pollutants from engine exhaust into less harmful pollutants. 

These devices are targets for theft because the metals used in this chemical reaction — platinum, palladium and rhodium — are valuable on the black market. While cars can function without these converters, cars in the mid-1970s and later were required to have them.

Some states have proposed or passed laws in efforts to curb the theft of catalytic converters.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office is also investigating a separate incident involving people stealing catalytic converters from "multiple businesses in unincorporated Riviera Beach" around 2 a.m. Thursday. The sheriff's office was not certain if these two incidents were related, and could not say Sunday where the thefts occurred or how many converters were stolen.

Anyone with information can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-458-TIPS.

Hannah Morse covers consumer issues for The Palm Beach Post. Drop a line at hmorse@pbpost.com, call 561-820-4833 or follow her on Twitter @mannahhorse.