Federal officials have stepped up surprise inspections of low-fare bus companies in the Washington-to-Boston corridor amid concerns by federal and state regulators that some curbside operators are unsafe and under-regulated.
A late October inspection sweep of 400 buses by a task force of federal, state and local authorities turned up more than 500 safety-related violations, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which regulates interstate bus and truck companies. The violations included speeding, a broken horn, and inadequate brakes and windshield wipers.
Following the inspections, the FMCSA ordered 56 buses and 13 drivers out of service, agency Administrator Annette M. Sandberg said yesterday.
Most of the buses inspected were operated by budget carriers that have become increasingly popular, picking up passengers at designated curbsides and offering round-trip fares as low as $35 between Washington and New York -- below that charged by major carriers such as Greyhound. The budget carriers are commonly known as Chinatown buses because they once primarily served Asian communities in the Northeast.
With the holiday travel rush underway, the agency has targeted specific companies for detailed reviews in early December, Sandberg said.
"My concerns are with operators who operate on the margins," she said. "Whenever somebody is operating on a very low margin . . . the first thing they cut is safety . . . whether it's safety management or maintaining the equipment or making sure they are doing drug or alcohol testing on their drivers . . . or carrying the proper levels of insurance."
Separately, the Justice Department says it has launched two investigations into whether discount carriers are complying with provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, department spokesman Eric Holland said. Sandberg said she has relayed to the department reports of budget operators that do not have wheelchair lifts on their buses.
The new government scrutiny follows two fires involving low-cost carriers on the New York-Boston route this year and concerns raised by Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) that some discount carriers are being allowed to operate with "egregiously low" federal safety ratings.
A review by The Washington Post found that three companies offering service from the District to New York this year received low FMCSA safety ratings, including one, Tomorrow Travel & Tour Inc., that was ordered out of service last summer but kept operating.
"I am very concerned that because of lax safety precautions and insufficient oversight more incidents could happen, putting hundreds of thousands of riders in danger," Schumer wrote Sandberg on Aug. 28.
Sandberg agreed more needs to be done.
"I can tell you, being a former law enforcement officer: You try to get to crime or safety before the problem exists," said Sandberg, former chief of the Washington State Patrol. "But oftentimes, you are reacting at the back end."
