FILE - In this March 12, 2011 file photo, emergency personnel investigate the scene of a bus crash on Interstate-95 in the Bronx borough of New York. Twenty-six bus operations that transported more than 1,800 passengers a day along Interstate 95 between New York and Florida have been closed for safety violations in what federal officials say is the government's largest single safety crackdown of the motor coach industry in at least a decade. (AP Photo/David Karp, File)
FILE - In this March 12, 2011 file photo, emergency personnel investigate the scene of a bus crash on Interstate-95 in the Bronx borough of New York. Twenty-six bus operations that transported more than 1,800 passengers a day along Interstate 95 between New York and Florida have been closed for safety violations in what federal officials say is the government's largest single safety crackdown of the motor coach industry in at least a decade. (AP Photo/David Karp, File)
FILE - In this March 12, 2011 file photo, Emergency personnel investigate the scene of a bus crash on Interstate-95 in the Bronx borough of New York. Twenty-six bus operations that transported more than 1,800 passengers a day along Interstate 95 between New York and Florida have been closed for safety violations in what federal officials say is the government's largest single safety crackdown of the motor coach industry in at least a decade. (AP Photo/David Karp, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Twenty-six bus operations that transported more than 1,800 passengers a day along Interstate 95 between New York and Florida have been closed for safety violations in what federal officials say is the government's largest single safety crackdown of the motor coach industry.
Teams of officials for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, armed with legal orders declaring the bus operations imminent hazards to public safety, swooped down Wednesday on companies based in six states: Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, New York, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Officials withheld details about the operation until Thursday.
The shutdown orders were aimed at the companies' headquarters and at bus pickup locations. Most of the 233 bus routes serviced by the companies either departed from or terminated in New York City's Chinatown district.
Besides the shuttered bus operations, 10 people ? company owners, managers and employees ? were ordered to stop all involvement in passenger transportation operations, including selling bus tickets, the Transportation Department said.
The shutdowns are the culmination of a yearlong investigation by the safety administration that focused on three primary companies: Apex Bus Inc. and I-95 Coach Inc., both of New York, and New Century Travel Inc. of Philadelphia. Each of the three companies oversaw a broad network of other bus companies, officials said. The other bus operations targeted in the crackdown were companies that were affiliated with one of the three primary companies but have other names.
Phone calls and emails to the three companies seeking comment were unanswered.
The shut-down companies are "very, very bad actors," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Thursday.
"This is a huge, big deal for us today," LaHood told reporters on a conference call. "This isn't some overnight deal ? this is something we've been working on, and we want people to know bus safety is one of our top priorities."
Safety officials have long complained that their attempts to put unsafe bus operators out of business are frequently thwarted by "reincarnated carriers" that simply reopen for business under a different name or in a different location, or that transfer their buses to an affiliated company that shares similar ownership. Buses belonging to such rogue companies are known in the industry as "ghost" buses because they are frequently painted white with relatively little decoration to make it easier to repaint them with a new company name.
The motor coach industry transports more than 700 million passengers a year in the U.S., roughly the same as the domestic airlines.
Bus industry officials said they have been urging the government to crack down on unsafe operators and were aware of the investigation before the shutdowns.
"These businesses have been doing all they can to operate far below the accepted level of safety," said Dan Ronan, a spokesman for the American Bus Association.
Wednesday's shutdowns applied to nine active bus companies; 13 bus companies that had lost permission to operate but were continuing to operate anyway; three companies that were in the process of applying to the government for operating authority; and a bus ticket seller.
Federal safety investigators found all of the carriers had multiple safety violations, including a pattern of using drivers who didn't have valid commercial driver's licenses and failing to administer alcohol and drug tests to drivers, according to the safety administration. The companies also operated buses that had not been regularly inspected and repaired, and their drivers were violating work schedule and rest requirements and didn't have proper qualifications, officials said.
The safety administration began investigating the network of carriers operating along I-95 following a series of deadly bus crashes last spring.
On March 12, 2011, a bus returning to Chinatown from an overnight trip to a casino in Connecticut hit a barrier in the Bronx, toppled on its side and slid into a sign pole with such force that it was sheared in half from front to back. Of the 32 people on the bus, 15 were killed, and the rest were injured, some severely. The driver, Ophadell Williams, has pleaded not guilty to charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.
Documents released by federal accident investigators show the bus was speeding at the time of the accident and that Williams' driving privileges had been suspended 18 times over 20 years. World Wide Travel of Greater New York, the bus company, was ordered to shut down for safety violations after the accident. The National Transportation Safety Board is scheduled to hold a meeting Tuesday to determine the probable cause of the crash.
In May 2011, a bus traveling from Greensboro, N.C., to Chinatown veered off I-95 in Virginia, hit an embankment and overturned. Four passengers were killed, and 50 were injured. The driver acknowledged falling asleep, according to court documents.
The bus operator, Sky Express Inc. of Charlotte, N.C., had been cited for 46 violations of driver fatigue rules in two years. The company was ordered to shut down after the accident, but within days it resumed business under two new names, according to the Transportation Department. That prompted a second shutdown order from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Several other bus companies were also ordered to shut down last summer after a comprehensive compliance review of their operations.
"The investigation of those operators uncovered additional problems and serious safety violations with other I-95 carriers, and ... investigators have been working diligently ever since to establish the links between the bus networks," the safety administration said in a statement.
But the safety administration, which works with states to enforce safety regulation of interstate bus companies, is overburdened, an NTSB report released last fall said. There are 878 federal and state inspectors able to conduct safety reviews of 765,000 bus and truck companies, or an average of slightly more than one inspector for 1,000 companies, the report said.
There were 24 motor coach crashes last year, resulting in 34 fatalities and 467 injuries, according to an unofficial tally kept by Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety.
___
Follow Joan Lowy at http://www.Twitter.Com/ap_joan_lowy
___
Online:
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration: http://fmcsa.Dot.Gov
Associated Presssan antonio weather mike daisey nicollette sheridan apple dividend snow white and the huntsman snow white and the huntsman peyton manning
To reduce this vitamin a treatment for acne irritation you may dilute the lemon juice by adding little rose water or plain water into it. However it is possible to have vitamin this common condition at any time in cider your life, and numerous people are affected by acne throughout their adult lives, and find themselves in an limitless search for a drug or product which will end their problem for ever. Get Rid Of Dead Skin Cells: Exfoliating can help gain control over acne. You vitamin a treatment for acne can also make a paste of apple mix 4- acne 6 drops of honey and lemon juice into it. But topical treatments, such as creams and lotions, are overrated. So immediately as see a new pimple apply salt water on it with a cotton bud. 7. These nodules are similar to acne but they are actually filled with pus and are generally at least 5 millimeters in diameter. Clogged pores are cleared by using jojoba oil and this leads to the restoration of the skin? s natural water balance. Adult acne is definitely an unpleasant thing to have, especially if you a are a woman and care about how you look. You want to try to keep scars your pores unclogged and exfoliation is very important. Acne Treatment Natural acne cure is the best because they are made with natural ingredients to suit your skin and not chemicals that may in turn have yet vinegar another reaction when applied. Restores and maintains their treatment body? s natural chemical balance 11. Spiritual healing for Acne Creating a positive physical condition apple that lets you body heal is one of ht every important parts in clearing breakouts. As medical science evolves companies come up with many medicines and cream which claim to treat acne. It is mainly because it is too difficult to digest and contains certain level of hormone. So for how acne do we get back acne? Wrong, wrong, wrong! So morning showers are the most basic way of keeping the skin clean. Not only is cost a factor but so is product ingredients, effectiveness, and what audience it targets. And also, you realize exactly what may be the results of these red- colored small bumps on the face. If you use a proper blackhead remover it will minimize the chances of damaging your skin and remember that the scars the can be removed may be removed and those that can not be removed must just be left alone. It does not only make your food taste better, it also improves the condition of your skin and reduces your acne scars. Some patients report of nausea, weight gain, breast tenderness, menstrual spotting, and mood swings. Look for active ingredients like salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, triclosan that help eliminate P. Avoid having a hand to face contact, especially when you are eating greasy foods. The compound, benzoyl peroxide, is used in many acne skin care products that include lotions, ointments and facial remedies for acne. Do some research on your own and you will find an appropriate remedy for you in no time. Just rub the fresh garlic on the pimples, and you will see the effect within hours. If you stay away from ? pro- inflammatory? foods and eat more ? anti- inflammatory? foods, the redness ( and swelling, if it? s present) associated with your acne will subside, and your skin will start to heal. And the smaller cystic apple cider vinegar acne scars acne may have completely disappear. 1 The first step requires that you exfoliate regularly. 
