NC, MI bus companies shut down as House panel nears

The Department of Transportation ordered a Michigan bus company to cease operations after it was caught transporting passengers in the cargo compartments of its buses.

Another company in North Carolina was also shut down for using non-qualified drivers and failing to keep safety records.

The announcements come as the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is set to convene a hearing Monday following a deadly crash recently in northern Virginia. The North Carolina company was United Tours Inc. and the Michigan company was Haines Tours.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said both companies posed a threat to public safety.

"People's lives were needlessly placed at risk,” LaHood said in a statement. “Safety is everyone’s responsibility and it begins with practicing common sense. That means not putting human beings in cargo holds.

“We will immediately shut down interstate bus and truck companies that violate safety regulations," he also said over the weekend. “Safety is our No. 1 priority, and travelers deserve to reach their destination safely."

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) said last week in calling for Monday's bus safety hearing that the industry was generally safe, but it needed congressional review after recent accidents.

“Bus transportation is one of our safest modes of travel, but we must ensure that our federal safety laws are effectively enforced, particularly to prevent continued operations by bad actors in the industry,” Mica said in a statement. “This hearing will help inform the committee as it continues to develop a multiyear reauthorization of transportation programs, including our highway safety programs.”

Similar hearings were held in the Senate after crashes in the Northeast in March resulted in 17 people being killed.

The House hearing is scheduled for 2:30 p.m Monday afternoon.