• 22
  • December
    2011

A report recently released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) highlights the danger of crashes involving curb-side buses. It also exposes a lack of federal regulation that leaves passengers and others on the road at risk of being involved in dangerous bus accidents with these vehicles.

The report was requested by Senator Charles Schumer and Representative Nydia Velazquez after a curb-side bus crashed in the Bronx in March, killing 15 people. The accident inspired investigation into curb-side buses that pick up passengers on the side of the road instead of paying fees to bus-terminal operators, resulting in lower bus fares, reports the Wall Street Journal.

The NTSB report states that federal officials do not have much data on the buses, like how many miles the buses travel each year or even how many companies do curb-side pickups. However, statistics show that curb-side buses have fatal accidents seven times more often than conventional buses.

The curb-side bus companies' low-cost focus may contribute to the high risk of crashes causing serious injury or death, especially in regard to their bus drivers. An average of 16.7 curb-side buses of every 100 had been taken out of service for driver-fatigue violations, the report said, while 11.2 conventional buses were taken out of service for the same reason, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Strangely, curb-side buses are not more likely to be involved in accidents than conventional buses. But, curb-side bus accidents are more likely to result in serious injuries and death.

To better understand why this might be and to improve safety for all bus riders, legislators and community-safety advocates urge greater regulation of curb-side buses. Increased federal oversight of these companies would hopefully result in fewer tragic bus accidents like the one that occurred in New York last spring.