Feds to temporarily stop granting bus licenses

Associated Press reports the federal government will temporarily stop granting bus operating licenses in the wake of Friday's crash which killed 17 heading for Marian Days in Carthage:

The head of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he wants applications to be checked against a database of bus companies that had been given orders to stop operating in the past.

Iguala BusMex Inc., whose bus crashed near Sherman on Friday, was awaiting approval for a federal license. The company is run by a man who also operates Angel Tours Inc., which was forced to take its vehicles out of interstate service June 23 after an unsatisfactory review by federal regulators.

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Administrator John H. Hill said he did not expect the new license suspension to last for long. Licenses will eventually be granted when the agency is able to vet names and information against its existing database of operators with safety violations, he said.