State inspectors in Massachusetts want the federal government to suspend or revoke Fung Wah’s license to operate, because the discount bus company is failing safety inspections. Last night inspectors looked at nine buses and found serious problems with eight, including cracks in the frames. As a result, the company agreed to take 21 older buses off the road. But they're still operating today between NYC and Boston—an employee who answered the phone today at the company's downtown office said, "We're not shut down! We're running! Every hour!"
The bus company has a history of safety violations. In 2006, Fung Wah agreed to inspections after thirty three passengers were injured when a speeding bus rolled off an exit ramp in Massachusetts. The company paid $30,000 in fines in the wake of that crash. In 2008, a woman was killed after a dump truck crashed into a Fung Wah bus near the entrance to the Manhattan Bridge in Chinatown. And in January of this year, a man and a woman were seriously injured after another Fung Wah bus driver ran into them near the same spot.
Inspectors with the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities are calling on the US Department of Transportation to order Fung Wah to “immediately cease passenger service and provide its entire fleet of 28 motorcoaches for thorough and detailed safety inspections by qualified inspectors.” CBS Boston reports that on one bus, "inspectors found multiple oil leaks from different parts of the engine, and nuts and bolts that weren’t secure. There were also faulty lights, a door with a broken latch and the lack of proper registration on the charter bus hired by Fung Wah."
CBS also reports that a Boston Police sergeant has learned that Fung Wah drivers have "driven failed buses off the lot and actually put them right back in service." Inspectors filled out paperwork in the lobby of Fung Wah Bus Company yesterday, but Fung Wah's employees aren't sweating it. One worker told ABC 7, "The buses have no problem really. They just need to be repaired. It's not big problem." So aside from needing repairs, the buses are totally fine!
