Mexican Bus Lines * USA - Under scrutiny after wrecks, indictments
Houston,TX,USA -The Houston Chronicle/AP, by JUAN A. LOZANO -May 3, 2008: -- Juan Martinez has seen drivers doze off from fatigue while he's taking a bus from Houston to his hometown in San Luis Potosi, Mexico... "This is very dangerous," Martinez said, waiting with suitcase in hand in front of Autobuses Lucano, one of the many smaller bus companies that offer service from the United States to Mexico... But Martinez and the thousands of riders, mostly Mexican immigrants, looking for a cheap way to get home aren't deterred by recent crashes and the recent drug smuggling indictments involving several of these bus companies... "There is just no other way for many of us to go home," he said just before boarding a bus bound for his hometown in north central Mexico... One of the allures of these companies is their low fares. Martinez's one-way ticket cost $70. In comparison, a ticket on a well-known carrier like Greyhound from Houston to Montgomery, Ala., roughly the same distance as Martinez's trip to San Luis Potosi, costs $128... Attorneys for passengers injured in bus crashes, safety experts and court records say the industry, while convenient, has a long history of accidents in the United States and Mexico and repeated safety violations, including overworked and undertrained drivers... But federal regulators and other officials say the companies' safety records are no worse than traditional carriers... Capt. Steven Sullivan, with the Texas Highway Patrol's commercial vehicle enforcement section, said roadside inspections by troopers of commercial buses result in less than 10 percent of drivers being taken out of service for problems associated with proper licensing or hours spent behind the wheel... Around 22 percent of buses are taken out of service for problems with brakes, tires or other defects... Sullivan said these out of service rates for Texas are similar to commercial vehicle inspections done nationwide... "Of course in a perfect world, you want voluntary compliance," he said. "You would like it to be zero. But you also have to be realistic."...
Labels: mexican's buses
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