Congressional advocates of intercity bus safety try again

Recently, there have been several horrific bus accidents in New York. In March 2011, 15 people were killed and 18 injured when a chartered tour bus, traveling at high speed from a Connecticut casino to Manhattan’s Chinatown, overturned in the Bronx on Interstate 19. Some of the victims were thrown out of the bus while others were trapped inside and at least one was decapitated.

In July, two people were killed and 35 injured in a crash in upstate New York in a tour bus headed for Niagara Falls. In another upstate New York accident that month, a tour bus coming from Canada crashed into a tractor trailer, killing the truck driver and one bus passenger, and injuring 30 passengers.

These and similar accidents have revitalized Congressional attempts to regulate intercity bus travel. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) in the Senate and John Lewis(D-Ga.) and Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) in the House have introduced bills that would require safety measures for these buses. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) blocked passage of a similar bill in the Senate last year because of concerns about costs, and he is expected to oppose this year’s bill as well.

The bus safety problem stems mostly from curbside bus companies — those that pick up passengers at the curb, rather than in bus terminals. Curbside bus service has been growing rapidly in recent years. The death rate from accidents in curbside buses is almost 10 times higher than in terminal-based buses.

Source: Politico, “Bus safety bills pick up speed,” Burgess Everett, Nov. 28, 2011