Today, the FMCSA announced it has put the brakes on Philadelphia-based passenger carrier Bus Go Bus, Inc., and ordered the company to immediately cease all operations, declaring the the company’s vehicles “an imminent hazard to public safety.”
In September, a “specially trained” FMCSA team of safety investigators investigated Bus Go Bus and found widespread violations including:
- inadequate inspection, repair and maintenance of vehicles;
- instances of falsified driver on-duty status records;
- failure to ensure that drivers submit vehicle inspection reports and other safety documentation as required by federal regulations;
- unqualified drivers being dispatched by the company;
- lack of medical examiner certificates for drivers; and
- widespread instances of drivers operating commercial passenger vehicles at speeds in excess of posted speed limits.
Bus Go Bus is the 19th passenger carrier to be ordered out of service since the April 2013 deployment of the FMCSA’s “Operation Quick Strike” team of investigators.
“We will not allow bus passengers or the motoring public to be put at risk by unsafe vehicles, commercial drivers or business operators,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “Safety is our number-one priority, and we will remain vigilant in removing bad actors from our nation’s highways and roads.”
“Every passenger who boards a commercial bus or van deserves to reach their destination safely,” said Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator Anne S. Ferro. “It is unacceptable to needlessly expose highway travelers to harm, and we will continue to demand that bus and truck companies comply with safety regulations that protect lives.”
A copy of the imminent hazard out-of-service order can be viewed at www.fmcsa.dot.gov/documents/about/news/2013/BusGoBus.pdf.