WASHINGTON –The US Department of Transportation said Wednesday it was suspending the bus operator involved in a fatal New Jersey accident, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Super Luxury Tours was taken off the road after one of its Philadelphia-bound buses veered off the New Jersey Turnpike just over two weeks ago and crashed, killing the driver and a passenger and injuring dozens of frightened riders.
Two days before that accident, a World Wide Tours bus crashed in New York City, leaving 15 dead and several more injured.
The move to sideline Wilkes-Barre, Pa.- based Super Luxury occurred on the same day Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) spoke at a Senate hearing on transportation, to discuss passenger safety, in which he urged further regulation for discount bus lines.
“I’m concerned that the Department of Transportation isn’t moving quickly enough to implement its 2009 plan to make motor coaches safer,” said Lautenberg, according to the Inquirer.
“It is also unacceptable that bus companies continue to put unsafe drivers and buses on the road,” he added.
“Just because bus companies can discount prices doesn’t mean they can discount safety.”
During Wednesday’s hearing, a panel of safety experts urged both the Department of Transportation and Congress to move to require seat belts in buses and to implement standards mandating strong roofs and windows, among other regulations, the Inquirer said.