Numerous Citations Issued In Surprise Tour Bus Inspection

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, in conjunction with the California Highway Patrol and the National Park Service, held a surprise inspection for all commercial for-hire multiple passenger tour buses in the park yesterday. The purpose of these unannounced inspections was to ensure visitor safety by assuring safe operation of tour buses in the park. Twenty-four buses were inspected – nine were found to be safe and were released with no citation, but the remaining 15 bus operators were cited for unsafe operation and two buses were taken out of service. Roadside inspections adhere to the guidelines of the North American standard for bus safety. There are five levels of inspections, including a vehicle component, a driver component, or a combination of both. Inspections are designed to determine if buses are in compliance with federal motor carrier safety regulations. About seven percent of the parks visitors – around 250,000 per year out of an annual visitation of approximately 3.5 million – arrive on tour buses. The large majority of tour bus passengers are international visitors from countries such as Japan, Korea, Germany, and England.  These surprise inspections will continue today.