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Philadelphia Tour Bus Passenger Safety Efforts Increase

By Pat Loeb

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Federal, state and local authorities are joining forces in an effort to make passengers safer on commercial buses. They'll be stepping up random safety checks on the buses that bring tourists to Philadelphia's historic sites.

Bus driver Tulio Arias was the first to be pulled over at random as part of the Passenger Carrier Strike Force, a two-week program to get risky buses off the road.

Arias's bus did pretty well; just a tire with low tread that had to be changed before he was allowed to proceed -- making him late pick up the tour group from Beijing he was chaffering and costing a couple hundred dollars in fines, but he took it in stride:

"It's okay because every once in a while that we have this, is important, definitely," Arias said.

The head of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Anne Ferro, says the strike force is part of a national effort to prevent accidents:

anne ferro
Anne Ferro flanked by state and Philadelphia police announcing the strike force. (Credit: Pat Loeb)

"This effort will not only shut down unsafe operators, but will heighten awareness for all the companies that are carrying our most precious cargo -- our friends, our families-- to be sure they are putting safety first on every trip," Ferro said.

Bus accidents caused 260 deaths and 16,000 injuries last year.

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