Last year, fatal crashes involving bus companies surged as intercity bus travel became the fastest-growing mode of commercial transportation in the United States.  In 2011, at least 28 people were tragically and senselessly killed in 8 fatal crashes.  According to a Bloomberg article, these frightening numbers include 3 fatal crashes that occurred in an 11 week period involving carriers operating out of, or carrying passengers between, Chinatown neighborhoods in East Coast cities.

As a result of the 2011 carnage, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration began a year-long investigation that culminated in the recent shutdown of 26 discount bus companies as imminent safety hazards.  The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s enforcement action targeted three Chinatown operations in Philadelphia and New York: Apex Bus, Inc., I-95 Coach, Inc., and New Century Travel, Inc.

In hopes, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s enforcement efforts will prevent future discount bus operation tragedies such as the March 12, 2011 crash that killed 15 innocent people in the Bronx, New York.  In that crash, the National Transportation Safety Board found that the bus company hired the at-fault driver despite the fact that he had been previously fired from 2 transportation jobs and his license had been suspended 18 times.