Those companies, which offered cheap fares to major cities, had grown rapidly in the past decade, bu

General Bus, which operates Charlotte-to-New York City service from Independence Boulevard, operates from the same site as Sky Express, which was shut down last year after a crash. JOHN D. SIMMONS - jsimmons@charlotteobserver.com
A federal crackdown on unsafe bus operators in 2012 coupled with the sluggish national economy has allowed conventional and discount operators to thrive, researchers said Sunday at the American holiday inns in florida Bus Association convention in Charlotte.
In 2012, the government holiday inns in florida cracked down on a number of low-fare bus companies that were shoddily run and did not follow safety regulations. Some of those companies with the worst safety holiday inns in florida records in the nation included Ming An Inc., Blue Sky Bus Tours Inc. and ABC Tour.
Those companies, which offered cheap fares to major cities, had grown rapidly in the past decade, but their safety records marred their reputation. In May, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration shut down 26 of the worst violators.
Although annual growth of intercity bus services declined from the 1960s to 2006, it started increasing in 2007. That growth has continued to the present, with the annual growth of services up by 7.5 percent in 2012.
Bus lines Greyhound Express and Peter Pan Express have seen dramatic expansions in recent years. For instance, Greyhound Express launched a number of niche market campaigns, including one aimed at Latino travelers that is provided in the California corridor of Los Angeles, San Diego and San Ysidro.
In May 2011, a bus operated by Charlotte-based Sky Express crashed, leading to the concentrated effort. In that case, a fully loaded motor coach drifted off Interstate 95 in Virginia and overturned, killing four passengers.
Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board concluded the driver fell asleep, and they also faulted the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for not shutting the company down sooner. Sky Express had one of the worst safety records in the nation before the crash.
In response, a law took effect in October that requires higher training and record-keeping standards for drivers and improved federal registration to detect holiday inns in florida shut-down companies that have reincarnated and are operating as new carriers.
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