Discount Bus Company Barred From Boston Terminal [VIDEO]

A discount bus service running between New York and Boston shut down Wednesday after being barred from operating out of a Boston bus terminal until further notice.

Federal regulators ordered Fung Wah's entire fleet of 28 buses off the road for safety inspections on Tuesday after Massachusetts inspectors found problems, including cracked frames. But the company continued to operate using chartered vehicles and three buses that passed inspection.

The service was shut down following a letter from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, which said it was suspending Fung Wah's right to operate at the South Station Bus Terminal.

"Due to the safety issues involved in the suspension of your company's right to operate a passenger bus service for a substantial portion of your bus fleet, the MBTA insists that your company immediately cease all passenger bus operations from SSBT until further notice," the letter said.

A woman who answered the phone at Fung Wah's New York office confirmed the service was not running.

Fung Wah has had other problems, including a $31,000 fine in 2006 for safety violations after a rollover accident in Massachusetts injured dozens of passengers. In safety measurements by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Fung Wah is in the bottom 3 percent nationwide for driver fitness, which evaluates training and experience.

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