An Atlanta coach bus service has been ordered to shut down after a federal agency found numerous safety violations.
Aglemoarge Services Inc. was ordered to “immediately cease all transportation services” and its operating authority was revoked due to a pattern of serious safety violations, U.S. Department of Transportation officials said in a statement on Thursday.
According to the statement, investigators found that Aglemoarge failed to monitor and ensure compliance with such requirements as drivers’ hours-of-service, drivers’ records of duty status, drivers’ qualification and drivers’ controlled substances and alcohol use and testing.
Investigators also found that Aglemoarge failed to meet federal safety requirements for vehicle maintenance, including regular inspections and repairs of its commercial motor vehicles.
Aglemoarge Services is an interstate charter carrier that operates as a curbside carrier transporting passengers between Atlanta and Chinatown in New York City, the agency said. The carrier was also ordered by the state of Georgia to cease intrastate for-hire passenger operations on Dec. 13, according to the federal DOT.
“This passenger carrier’s continued and blatant disregard for federal safety standards poses a potentially deadly risk for their drivers, passengers and the motoring public alike,” said Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration spokeswoman Anne Ferro. “Safety is our number one priority, and we are using every resource at our disposal to identify and remove unsafe bus companies from our roads.”
Jerry Beatty, a safety consultant for the company, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the company’s problems involved “paperwork issues.”
“His paperwork was not in order,” Beatty said. “He has some 30 days to bring it all in compliance and he’ll be back in business.”
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