Washington, DC -- Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY-17) approved of the closing of 26 bus lines for safety reasons by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The buses transported close to 2,000 passengers per day along I-95 between New York and Florida.  In March 2011, a bus returning to Chinatown from a trip to Connecticut crashed in the Bronx, killing 15 people. 

“The steps taken by the U.S. Department of Transportation are an excellent first step in ensuring these bus routes will be safer in the future.  I have consistently called for Congressional oversight over the low-fare bus lines, and repeat that call to supplement the DOT’s actions.  Safety should always come first, and companies who exploit their customers and put lives at risk must to be held accountable.

“Last year, I called for greater oversight of these bus lines after the tragedy in March.  In that case, the driver was speeding and had his license suspended 18 times in 20 years.  There are a large number of low-income families, seniors, and students who rely on these bus lines each day.  The accident in the Bronx was just one of many such incidents up and down the Eastern seaboard in recent years.  Something has to be done to protect those lives that are in the hands of these drivers, and the lives of the motorists who happen to be driving on the same road. 

Rep. Engel is a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

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