New York Bill Requires Public Bus Safety Grades

Sen. Charles Schumer’s bill requiring new safety ratings for low-cost bus companies and public disclosure of bus company safety grades has passed Congress and is headed for the president’s desk.

Schumer wants bus company safety grades to be displayed as letter grades, similar to New York City restaurant safety ratings.

Schumer’s bill requiring the Department of Transportation to create new safety ratings for discount bus operators and better disclosure of these ratings was proposed last year in response to several fatal crashes involving the low-cost tour bus industry.

A March 2011 crash in the Bronx left 15 people dead. That crash followed the 2010 crash in Syracuse, when a distracted bus driver crashed into an overhead bridge, killing four people.