Los Angeles Bus Company Shut Down by FMCSA

Los Angeles-based passenger bus carrier John Andrew Ciego, doing business as “Its Good Promotion,” was ordered to cease operations, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The company was found to be endangering the traveling public by failing to ensure the safety of its vehicles and drivers.

Investigators also found that the carrier improperly allowed at least four other unsafe bus companies, previously shut down by FMCSA, to continue doing business using vehicles with the registration markings of “Its Good Promotion.”

“Safety is our top priority, and we are working hard to thoroughly investigate and shut down bus companies that put people in harm’s way,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “Deliberately evading federal safety regulations that protect travelers on our highways and roads has serious consequences and will not be tolerated.”

On Dec. 1, 2013, a bus with the markings of “Its Good Promotion” was stopped for an inspection while crossing into the United States at the Otay Mesa, Calif., Port of Entry. The vehicle was found to be the subject of an FMCSA out-of-service order issued Nov. 15, 2013. In addition, inspectors discovered 17 serious safety defects, 14 of which individually required the vehicle to be immediately placed out-of-service as an imminent hazard to the public. It was also revealed that the vehicle had attempted to cross the border earlier the same day in El Paso, Texas, but was refused entry by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents because of the previously issued FMCSA out-of-service order.

Employing innovative investigative techniques developed under the recent Operation Quick Strike crackdown, FMCSA investigators on Dec. 2, 2013, launched an intensified investigation of “Its Good Promotion” and found that the company name and its USDOT number were being used by multiple motor carriers and commercial motor vehicle owners as a “shell cover name” to transport passengers between Mexico and the U.S. The four motor carriers that were attempting to appear as part of “Its Good Promotion” had been previously ordered by FMCSA to cease operations because of serious safety violations.

“Rogue bus operations that compromise public safety are being shut down in California and nationwide,” said Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator Anne S. Ferro.

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)