Bad/good news for all you Fung Wah Bus lovers/haters out there: the federal Department of Transportation released a report revealing exactly what compelled it to take the motor coach line off the road last month, and the prognosis is worse than you might have imagined. From the DOT:
The company failed to inspect, repair and maintain its vehicles, falsified inspection records, failed to ensure its drivers were qualified and complied with hours-of-service regulations, and failed to meet drug and alcohol testing requirements. Individually and cumulatively, these violations and conditions of operations substantially increase the likelihood of serious injury or death to Fung Wah drivers, passengers and the traveling public.
Yeesh. Yep, okay. Wow, that’s pretty bad. Nobody knew things had gotten this desperate, Fung Wah! If you had asked us for help instead of keeping your problems locked away inside we may have been able to do something. But it may be too late now. The full report is so damning that the Feds don’t even trust Fung Wah to drive an empty bus to get repairs:
…such commercial motor vehicles may not be operated–even without passengers. Any movement of Fung Wah’s commercial motor vehicles, specifically including the commercial motor vehicles identified in Appendix A of this Order, to any storage or repair or other location, for the purposes of repair, sale, storage, or final destination must be accomplished only by towing, such that the commercial motor vehicle itself is not operated; Fung Wah’s commercial motor vehicles may be moved only upon the written approval of the Regional Field Administrator for FMCSA’s Eastern Service Center.
Fung Wah can’t even tow these things without a permission slip. But there’s still hope! In a six-paragraph section at the end of the report, the FMCSA (that’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, a division of the DOT) details exactly what needs to happen to get the buses on the roads. And–surprise!–Fung Wah just needs to clear up every single one of the glaring errors in its inspection, maintenance, training, and hiring practices. Until then, Lucky Star it is.
(Photo: Filippo Diotalevi/Flickr)
