Freeway Oil Spills Keep CHP Busy

The morning after the California Highway Patrol announced an MTA bus was the probable culprit in a chronic slippery road mystery, more slick stuff appeared Friday on the Ronald Reagan Freeway’s transition to the Golden State Freeway.

The new suspect: another allegedly oil-spewing MTA bus maintained and operated by the transportation company Coach USA.

CHP surveillance cameras caught the bus leaking oil about 4:30 a.m. Friday on the Ronald Reagan Freeway’s westbound connector to the Golden State Freeway, CHP Officer Wendy Moore said.

A similar bus was caught leaking oil Thursday morning on the San Diego Freeway connector.

Both buses are about 10 years old and part of a 28-vehicle fleet that will be replaced with new buses in December, said Marc Littman, an MTA spokesman. The normal life span of a city bus is about 12 years, he said.

Coach USA has not been cited in the incidents, authorities said. A CHP investigation is underway to determine whether the company is responsible for more than 15 early morning spills in recent weeks that have closed transition roads from the Ronald Reagan Freeway to the Golden State and San Diego freeways and caused a number of accidents, Moore said.

Littman said once that investigation is completed, the MTA will launch its own inquiry.

The buses serve three routes and are run by Coach USA as part of a five-year contract with MTA that started in June.

“Even though they’re wearing MTA’s logo and our colors, Coach USA is responsible for operating to MTA standards,” Littman said. “It would be a violation of our maintenance standards if they’re leaking oil.”

Littman, who said the MTA-owned buses were “in good shape” when Coach USA got them, said the company could be subject to fines stipulated in the contract pending the results of the MTA investigation.

Coach USA project manager Greg Bush stressed it is not yet known whether the company is responsible for the spills.

“We’ve always met MTA guidelines for maintenance,” he said. “Nobody has pointed the finger in any direction.”

After the first bus was found leaking Thursday, Bush said, a faulty gasket was determined to be the problem. The company inspected all 28 buses Thursday night, and all were returned to service.

The cause of the second spill was still being assessed by mechanics Friday, though Bush thought it might be diagnosed as a similar issue, and added that recent cold weather may have exacerbated the problems.

Moore said the banked curves on the transition roads are probably another factor.

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Both buses used the connector roads as they were beginning Route 167, which takes passengers from Ventura Boulevard in Studio City to the Metrolink train station in Chatsworth.

The CHP is analyzing samples of spills from various days to determine whether they are from the same source. The CHP is also scheduled to inspect Coach USA’s MTA fleet at an undisclosed date, Moore said.

Friday’s spill resulted in a one-hour road closure from about 6:15 to 7:15 a.m., CHP officials said. “I’ve heard Caltrans is getting really good at cleaning this stuff up,” Moore said.