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Feds Conduct Inspections On Passenger Bus Operators In Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Federal authorities conducted random bus inspections this afternoon in Philadelphia, near the on-ramp of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge.

Bill Bronrott, with the US Department of Transportation, says nationwide there are about 13,000 motorcoach bus companies and about a half-million truck and bus drivers -- all of which need to comply with road safety regulations.

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(Credit: Hadas Kuznits)

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"The US Department of Transportation is providing $8.1 million in this fiscal year for bus and truck safety efforts like this motorcoach strike force.  In particular, we have a $174,000 grant for the City of Philadelphia," Bronrott says.

Much of those funds go toward conducting bus and truck safety checks, he adds.

"Just starting with the mechanics.  Making sure the brakes are safe.  If you talk to the inspectors, they will go underneath the buses, they will look at all the basic elements of what makes for a safe operations in a bus."

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(Credit: Hadas Kuznits)

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And if a bus doesn't pass their inspection, Bronrott says, it gets taken off the road.

"We are looking for unsafe buses, unsafe drivers.  We're looking for certain violations and, if need be, we will put drivers or the carrier companies out of service."

Reported by Hadas Kuznits, KYW Newsradio 1060

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