Bus Firm With Safety Violations Gets City Pact

The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday awarded a $722,500 contract for an Eastside dial-a-ride service to a transit company whose chartered bus service was recently ordered halted by the Public Utilities Commission because of defective vehicles.

The council, apparently unaware of the PUC action, unanimously approved a contract with Pacific Busing Inc. to provide service for the elderly and handicapped in the Eastside Community Transit Program.

The council disregarded an anonymous report that the company had failed safety inspections of its bus fleet by the California Highway Patrol. However, the council was assured by the bus company that the vehicles found defective by the CHP would not be used to transport the elderly on the Eastside.

Questions Raised

Before the vote, Councilman Ernani Bernardi raised questions about whether Pacific Busing should be awarded the contract. He read aloud from an anonymous letter disclosing that the company’s buses had failed CHP inspections.

But the council, including Bernardi, eventually voted 11 to 0 for approval. Bernardi called for city transportation officials to look into the charges and indicated he would reconsider his approval if they are substantiated.

Only later Tuesday did reporters and council members, after they had adjourned, learn that the company’s certificate to operate charter buses had been suspended by the PUC, based on a CHP conclusion that the firm’s “vehicle maintenance program was unsatisfactory.”

In two inspections conducted last July and August, the CHP said it pulled a total of nine out of 29 buses from service because of violations ranging from defective steering and bad brakes to fuel leaks and suspension problems.

Failure Noted

The inspection reports also said that an investigation of maintenance records showed a “failure to perform a proper systematic safety inspection as required.”

Based on the CHP reports, the PUC ordered the company’s charter bus service shut down effective Sept. 24, according to a commission official.

Brian Navis, president of Los Angeles-based Pacific Busing, blamed his company’s difficulties on aging buses in its charter fleet. But he said those older vehicles are being replaced and that his firm has applied for another inspection.

Moreover, Navis said, none of the bus problems will affect the city’s dial-a-ride program, which will rely on new, 12-passenger vans and will not require approval from the PUC.

“Basically, I think we’ve rectified the deficiencies that resulted in our unsatisfactory rating,” Navis said.

But the sudden flap over the firm’s vehicle safety record is giving some council members second thoughts.

Woo Concerned

“I am concerned about it,” said Councilman Michael Woo, who chaired the Transportation and Traffic Committee that recommended the award to Pacific Busing. “I’ve asked my staff to investigate the charges. . . and I may ask for reconsideration.”

“We’ve never been crazy about the evaluation process,” said Councilman Richard Alatorre, who said he also will seek a review of the council vote.

Alatorre, who represents the Eastside area that would be serviced by the transit program, had pushed earlier for another organization--The East Los Angeles Community Union--for the job. The council awarded TELACU the contract, but the anti-poverty group--which was rated only the third-best applicant by the Department of Transportation--withdrew its bid amid complaints that the choice was politically motivated.

Officials Stunned

Pacific Busing had ranked first in the department’s rating system, but the new disclosures have clearly stunned department officials and council members. In voting for the contract, Bernardi said he wanted the Transportation Department to look further into the company, including its contract with another agency that presently is embroiled in a legal dispute with Pacific Busing.

The 5-year-old firm presently operates bus service to local airports, a dial-a-ride program in La Puente and has run a shuttle service in the Fairfax district for more than a year.

“We’ve never heard any complaints, in fact, only good comments about the Fairfax Trolley,” said Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky. “This (suspension) comes as a surprise, in fact, it was a shock, and an explanation is certainly in order.”