San Francisco

San Francisco Mayor Calls for Tougher Tour Bus Inspections

A runaway tour bus injured 20 people in Union Square last week.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee is calling for tougher inspections on tour buses one week after a runaway bus injured 20 people in one of the city's tourist magnets, Union Square.

The California Highway Patrol says it has no record that the speeding bus that crashed into a construction site had ever been inspected as a part of the City Sightseeing fleet of 28 double-decker buses. In the last inspection, Sept. 25, CHP says inspectors examined only nine of the company's buses - about a third of the fleet - found no problems and signed off on the rest.

"We are demanding that the CPUC (California Public Utilities Commission) order the entire inspection of every single tour bus," Mayor Lee said at a Friday morning press conference.

The mayor offered no details about the additional people, time or money those inspections may require.

Accident investigators still cannot definitively explain what triggered Friday's crash. The bus driver said the brakes and everything else failed.

"We will move as quickly as possible. We know people want answers," San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr said Friday. "And we want to make sure other buses in this iconic city are safe."

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