Report: NYC School Bus Safety Violations Soar

New York City school buses have been cited with more safety violations in the first four months of this school year than in all the previous year – before officials took steps to make sure surprise inspections are truly surprises.

The Daily News says inspectors have logged more than 12,000 violations since September. That compares to about 10,100 throughout the 2006-07 school year, and 9,600 the year before.

City Education Department spokesman David Cantor says the increase reflects “better and more aggressive management” and revised inspection procedures. He said in June that the agency had started telling inspectors the locations of unannounced checks only on the day of the inspection.

Reports in May and June raised questions about whether bus companies were being alerted before the inspections. A lawyer for several bus companies denied it.

Source: Daily News