City transit officials are looking into ways of tightening security at the three transit garages after a 15-year-old boy walked undetected into the Osborne Street garage Sunday and drove off with a bus.

"We are reviewing our procedures to see if we need to make changes," transit director Rick Borland said in an interview yesterday.

"It's not the sort of thing we like to see happen very often and it certainly concerns us," Borland added.

He said the boy apparently walked into the transit garage at 421 Osborne Street about 2 p.m. Sunday.

Being a Sunday, there was only a small staff on duty and no one noticed the youngster. The boy climbed aboard a 30-foot bus, started it and drove out the garage, Borland said.

In the process, he struck two other parked buses in the garage, knocking some mirrors and causing minor damages. No one was injured.

As the boy was driving the bus on to Osborne Street, however, another bus driver spotted him and notified workers at the garage. By that time, the boy was already on his way down Osborne Street, so workers called the police and radioed other bus drivers and traffic supervisors to be on the lookout for the stolen bus, Borland said.

The boy apparently headed for downtown and along the way hit two parked cars, causing minor damage. A transit supervisor finally caught up with the bus near the corner of Portage Avenue and Main Street and another supervisor who was stationed near the corner ran out and signalled the boy to stop.

Borland said the boy voluntarily stopped and let the supervisor aboard. The supervisor then held him until police arrived.

The boy was taken into custody, charged with theft and released. He is to appear in juvenile court at a later date.

Borland admitted security can be a problem at the transit garages, particularly during weekends.

He said because buses are always entering and leaving the garages, the doors are left unlocked. During the week there is a fairly large staff on duty, so it's unlikely someone could walk in and not be noticed.

Transit officials first began looking at ways to improve security several months ago when another bus was stolen from the garage.

In that instance, a man fell asleep on a bus late at night, the driver did not notice him and parked the bus in the garage. The man woke up early the next morning before the day shift arrived, started the bus and drove away.

Borland said one way to tighten security would be to build a fence around the garage and outside compound, but with three garages in the city that could prove costly, he added.

He also noted a fence would be useless unless there were security guards posted at the gates on a 24-hour basis to keep an eye on people coming and going.

He added any large expenditures would also have to be approved by city officials.

Meanwhile, transit officials are continuing to look at other less costly ways of tightening security, Borland said. He refused to discuss what other changes have or may be implemented, however, saying it would only tip off intruders on what to watch out for.