26 NYC, Philly bus operators shut down

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NEW YORK, May 31 (UPI) -- Federal transportation officials Thursday shut down 26 bus operators in New York City and Philadelphia citing serious safety concerns.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration also forced 10 bus company owners, managers and employees to cease all operations, The New York Times reported.

Officials began investigating carriers that transport passengers along the East Coast one year ago following several deadly bus accidents, the newspaper said.

They found the offending bus operators employed drivers who worked long hours, had driver qualification violations and did not have valid commercial driver's licenses, the transportation officials said.

"The egregious acts of these carriers put the unsuspecting public at risk, and they must be removed from our highways immediately," Anne S. Ferro, the administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, said in a news release.

"These aggressive enforcement actions against unsafe bus companies send a clear signal: If you put passengers' safety at risk, we will shut you down," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said.