Fung Wah bus line faces state, federal scrutiny

The Fung Wah Bus line is facing intense scrutiny by state and federal regulators in the aftermath of an accident Tuesday on Interstate 290 that injured 34 people, and that once again drew attention to a pattern of speeding by company drivers.

State regulators yesterday scheduled a meeting with the carrier's founder and general manager, Pei Lin Liang.

Officials threatened to pull the discount carrier's license to operate from South Station if an investigation shows the company has failed to comply with state rules.

Federal officials are also awaiting a State Police report on the accident. Fung Wah could be fined or have its operating license suspended, they said.

The rollover occurred five months after federal regulators warned Fung Wah that they would not tolerate excessive speeding by the company's buses.

``Do not schedule or require drivers to make trips requiring them to exceed posted speed limits in order to complete the [route] within the hours of service limits," the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration urged in an April memo. ``SLOW YOUR DRIVERS DOWN TO SPEED LIMIT OR BELOW for the complete distance for every trip."

In a letter yesterday to Liang, the state Department of Telecommunications and Energy, which regulates commercial bus carriers, said Liang must provide records at a meeting on Monday, including the company's safety policies and procedures, a written description of how Fung Wah monitors its drivers' compliance with those policies, and how drivers are trained.

Timothy J. Shevlin Jr. , the state agency's executive director, declined to comment pending the outcome of the accident investigation.

The bus line has a state certificate to operate out of South Station, where it moved after complaints about blocking traffic at curbside in Chinatown.

If that permit were revoked, Fung Wah could still operate in Boston by reverting to curbside pickup -- as long as it kept its federal operating permit.

Liang said yesterday that his drivers undergo training, and that company officials do not pressure them to go fast. ``Drivers are safe," Liang said at his company's office in New York's Chinatown, according to the Associated Press. ``I tell drivers, `Slowly, safety first.' "

Between April 2005 and April 2006, 21 of 53 Fung Wah drivers stopped by federal inspectors were cited for speeding and other driving violations, documents show.

Using Mass. Pike entry and exit times from the company's electronic toll records, inspectors calculated that seven drivers were driving above the posted speed limit for two-thirds of the time. As a result, regulators fined the bus line almost $13,000 in May for speeding, failure to keep driver records, and using a bus that had failed a federal inspection.

In addition, the company's federal ratings on driver safety, vehicle safety, and safety management have all worsened substantially since a fire last August on another Fung Wah bus on a Connecticut interstate.

In July 2005, the company's overall federal safety rating was two points away from being considered unsatisfactory; in July 2006, it was two points away from being among the nation's worst. Part of that decline is because of the May fine settlement.

Fung Wah's driver risk rating in July was 98 -- compared with 73 in July 2005 -- on a scale in which 100 is the worst and 75 indicates a possible problem. Fung Wah's rating means that 98 percent of interstate bus companies had better driver-safety records. The ratings, which are updated monthly and which cover the prior 30 months, are based on drivers' records, including the number of traffic tickets and the number of times their logs showed that they had spent too much time behind the wheel.

Still, federal officials say the company holds a ``satisfactory" rating because its overall operations, including vehicle inspections and a willingness to fix problems quickly, is in compliance.

``We continue to monitor their activity," said Ian Grossman , a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration spokesman. ``They remain high on our priority list."

Fung Wah, which started running buses between Boston and New York eight years ago, and which reported $7 million in gross revenue this year, has 28 drivers for 20 motor coaches.

This leaves little time for rest for drivers who must quickly unload and reload passengers to make their return trip. Fung Wah drivers have been cited for missing work logs or exceeding the number of hours they are allowed to drive between breaks.

The bus line continues to be popular, especially with college students and other budget-conscious travelers drawn by a $15 one-way ride.

On Tuesday, the bus was carrying 57 passengers when it overturned on a off-ramp leading from I-290 to Route 12 in Auburn. State Police said 34 passengers were taken to the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center and the Worcester Medical Center with minor injuries, mostly scrapes and bruises.

Police cited the driver, Chuandai Chen , 44, of Brooklyn, N.Y., for driving beyond ``reasonable and proper speed." Police refused to allow a replacement driver to take the passengers to Boston because he had a false log book and he could not speak English, two federal violations, said State Police Trooper Thomas Ryan .

Liang of Fung Wah said Chen had to take an alternate route because of an accident and was unfamiliar with the area.

Though police impounded the vehicle, the bus was last inspected in May and there were no violations, according to the report.

In August 2005, a Fung Wah bus bound for New York caught fire on I-91 in Meriden, Conn. Forty-five passengers escaped moments before the bus was engulfed in flames. Afterward, Massachusetts investigators said they would review safety guidelines with Fung Wah's drivers and owners, and would inspect the buses three times a year rather than the one standard annual inspection.

State Police also planned to watch the buses closely for speeding and other violations. State regulators have said the company has been willing to address problems, and has made changes as a result of the stepped-up oversight.

Yesterday at South Station, some Fung Wah riders were depending on faith to get them through their trips.

``I had no problems at all. I took the 8 a.m. and just got here at noon," said Louise Jainne , 40, of Brooklyn. ``When I sat down, I prayed God to please bring me here, and he did."

Adrienne Samuels of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Mac Daniel can be reached at mdaniel@globe.com