Slam the brakes on bad bus firms: pols

Six New York bus companies have worse safety records than the one involved in last week’s fatal Queens crash — and a group of state senators say it’s time for a crackdown.

The lawmakers released a study Thursday detailing the trouble plaguing the state’s cheap privatebus industry, including the revelation that nearly half of operators have tainted driving records.

The senators, who form the Independent Democratic Conference, are calling for legislation to force the rotten bus businesses to post their records publicly and subject them to higher fines if they violate laws — such as hiring drivers with DWI histories.

“I understand the convenience and I understand the cheap price point, but it’s paramount that these companies get their acts together,” said Sen. Jeff Klein (DBronx/Westchester).

“It’s about transparency and about making sure we punish those bus companies who don’t obey the law.”

Of the 249 bus companies in the state, 121 had at least one moving violation, and 51 of those companies racked up enough tickets to be flagged by the US Department of Transportation for unsafe driving, the study found.

The senators also highlighted the 10 worst bus companies in the state, including the six with worse safety records than Dahlia, whose bus was involved in a crash that killed three people in Flushing, Queens, on Sept. 18.

They were identified as Sagbus, Yep Tour, No. 1 Bus Tour, Safari Tour, Soe and K Line/Funaway.

All have horrendous safety records, yet the USDOT still hasn’t pulled their driving permits, according to data collected by the Independent Democratic Conference. The feds are the only ones who can shutter the dangerous bus businesses, Klein noted.

Sagbus, which is based in Flushing, is in the 99th percentile. With one driver and one bus, it has had 18 total violations, and four of those were for unsafe driving.

Most bus companies on the list could not be reached, but those who chose to comment say they were being unfairly targeted.

“We drive on the Garden State Parkway, and they have the highest enforcement,” said Victoria Chow, owner of Victoria’s Transportation. “There is a stretch where it goes from 60 [mph] to 45, and it takes a bus a long time to slow down.”

Kam Faiyip, the lone Sagbus driver, said he is ticketed often because he drives between New York and Tennessee several days a week. “I spent an average of eight hours a day driving,” he said while on the road in Virginia.