U.S. Department of Transportation
Office of Public Affairs
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
www.dot.gov/briefing-room.html
FMCSA 08-13
Friday, March 1, 2013
Contact: Duane DeBruyne
Tel.: (202) 366-9999
FMCSA Shuts Down Fung Wah Bus Transportation
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) today shut down Boston-based Fung Wah Bus Transportation using new authorities given to FMCSA under the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). "Bus companies that jeopardize public safety and refuse to cooperate with our investigators have no place on the road, and now, thanks to our additional authority, we can take them off," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "Safety is our highest priority, and we will continue to do all we can to ensure that unsafe bus companies are not on our roads." Earlier today, Fung Wah stopped cooperating with FMCSA safety investigators and blocked further access to company safety records. Under provisions contained in MAP-21, signed into law by President Obama in July 2012, FMCSA may revoke the operating authority registration of a motor carrier that fails to comply with an administrative subpoena or a letter demanding release of company safety records. This is the first case of FMCSA exercising this new provision to revoke a motor carrier’s federal operating authority. "We will not hesitate to immediately shut down a bus or truck company that ignores safety regulations and puts innocent lives at risk," said FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro. "We will employ every tool we have to take unsafe commercial drivers, vehicles and entire companies off the road anywhere in the county at any time." On Tuesday, FMCSA ordered Fung Wah to immediately provide its entire fleet of 28 motorcoaches for thorough and detailed safety inspections by qualified inspectors. FMCSA's safety investigators had continued their examination of Fung Wah's operations through the rest of the week in order to consider further action against the company as a whole in addition to ordering its buses out of service. ###
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