State eyes registration of buses at Dallas firm: Probe linked to fatal crash of Houston-based charter vehicle made in Mexico

Nov 01, 2008 (Houston Chronicle - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- VOLVY | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Texas transportation officials, spurred by a national safety investigation into a fatal Houston charter bus crash near Victoria, are looking into why that bus and 22 others from companies across the state were registered through a Dallas bus company shut down this summer by federal regulators.

Texas Department of Transportation spokeswoman Kim Sue Lia Perkes confirmed that the license plate registrations of at least 23 buses, all tied to the Dallas address of Green River Buses, were turned over this week to the Texas Department of Public Safety for further investigation.

At least 17 of those buses are Mexican-made, prompting questions as to whether they were built to U.S. safety standards and whether they entered this country legally.

"TxDOT is vigilant about how we go about registering motorcoaches that come into our borders from Mexico," Perkes said. "We do everything we can to ensure the motorcoaches on Texas' highways and roads are safe."

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ordered Green River Buses of Dallas to shut down in August. The company also had been ordered to do so in April.

The Houston Chronicle, relying on a private database, found more than 30 buses located at Green River's address in Dallas. Some appear to be owned by Green River, but others are owned by as many as seven other companies that are based elsewhere, including Houston and Fort Worth.

TxDOT, citing the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act, declined to release the license plate numbers and the vehicle identification numbers of the buses listed at that address. But the agency confirmed 23 license plates registered to that address, uncovered by the Chronicle, were current registrations in TxDOT's database.

The Chronicle called other bus companies asking why they used an address other than their own to register for plates.

Miguel Luna, owner of Fort Worth-based Autobuses Aztecas, said he authorized a longtime associate at Green River Buses to help him register two or three buses.

"What happened is, I didn't know how to register a bus, how to handle the paperwork," said Luna, who did not have an address for his firm. He also said he bought the bus in Mexico.

The National Transportation Safety Board, investigating the Jan. 2 crash of a Houston-based Capricorn Bus Lines 2005 Volvo bus near Victoria, uncovered that it was registered in Dallas County, not Harris County.

Further investigation by the NTSB revealed that the owner of the Mexican-made bus went to elaborate means through Green River to register the bus first in California, which does not require a title for a license plate, and then traded the California plate for a Texas one.

Texas vehicles are supposed to be registered in the county where the owner is based. Today, 2,493 buses are registered in the state.

"When we learned at the NTSB hearing that it was a common practice for Green River to bring motorcoaches through Mexico, (buses) that may or may not meet the proper qualifications, and register them in another state before applying for registration here, we proactively researched the number of vehicles registered," Perkes said. "We have turned our findings over to DPS."

Brigham McCown, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's former general counsel, said the government has long questioned the safety of Mexican-made buses.

He said the safety debate centers on braking systems, emergency exits and the use of a single rear axles in Mexican-made buses, which are made to mirror safety features in European buses.

"The government's position has been consistent," McCown said. "The U.S. has steadfastly refused to allow the Mexican-standard (buses) in the U.S."

McCown said colleagues at the U.S. Department of Transportation have told him the problem is widespread.

"My understanding is, there are more than (those in Texas) that are running around. They just haven't found them all yet," he said. "I've been told by senior (Department of Transportation) officials there are quite a few of these buses around the country, and they are actively looking for them."

terri.langford@chron.com

james.pinkerton@chron.com

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