The Bay Area CHP reportedly using 'decoy' tech shuttle buses to bait freeway BB gun shooters

People board a tech bus on 16th Street in the Mission District, in San Francisco, California, on Friday, July 8, 2016. People board a tech bus on 16th Street in the Mission District, in San Francisco, California, on Friday, July 8, 2016. Photo: Gabrielle Lurie, Special To The Chronicle Photo: Gabrielle Lurie, Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close The Bay Area CHP reportedly using 'decoy' tech shuttle buses to bait freeway BB gun shooters 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

Following a series of BB gun shootings targeting tech shuttle buses on the freeway, the California Highway Patrol is getting creative to catch the perpetrators.

As NBC Bay Area reports, the CHP is now using "decoy buses" filled with undercover officers as a way to lure the shooter or shooters "in an effort to bring the individual or individuals responsible for these attacks to justice."

In addition to these bait buses, which will go on runs to the South Bay at random times, CHP officers will also periodically ride in actual tech shuttle buses with commuters working for companies like Google and Apple.

RELATED: $10,000 reward offered for info on Bay Area tech-bus shootings

The program, the CHP says, will work as sort of an "air marshal program," where the daily commuters won't even necessarily know that there is a trained officer on board. Unmarked cars will also be on patrol between Woodside and Cupertino.

According to ABC 7 News, there have been 20 hits on at least seven buses in the last month and a half. Windows have been cracked, but not shattered.

RELATED: 5 shuttle buses chartered by Google, Apple apparently vandalized on I-280, possibly with pellet gun

The hope, as CHP Golden Gate Division Commander Ernest Sanchez said, is that these officers onboard any targeted buses will be "looking at damage on the bus and looking at what angle the projectile is coming from."

As the San Francisco Chronicle reported earlier this week, one charter bus company, called Storer Transportation, has offered a $10,000 reward leading to the arrest of anyone involved.

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira.

