The B.C. government is launching a safety review of the province’s motor coach industry following several major accidents in the last three years.
The Motor Coach Bus Safety Review will examine multiple aspects of the industry, including safety statistics and performance, current regulations for driver licensing and training, and vehicle inspections and standards.
Best practices of other North American jurisdictions will also be assessed, according to officials.
"B.C. has a strong framework that governs the motor coach industry, and I want to make sure that British Columbians and tourists can continue to have confidence in bus travel" said Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Todd Stone in a media release.
"We are going to take a look at our system, our regulations and at other jurisdictions to see if there are areas where we can improve to make sure bus travel on our highways is as safe as possible."
A motor coach is defined by the Ministry as “'over the road' buses with an elevated seating area over the luggage storage.” School buses and transit buses will not be included in the review.
The announcement comes just weeks after a crash on B.C.’s Coquihalla Highway put dozens of people in the hospital.
Thirty-eight people were hurt, including two who suffered serious injuries, after a Universal Coach Lines tour bus slammed into a tow truck and car that were parked on the shoulder of the highway near Merritt on June 27.
In August 2014, a tour bus flipped into a ditch on the Coquihalla Highway south of Merritt, B.C., ejecting multiple passengers and leaving all 56 people aboard with varying injuries.
Officials say the review is set to begin this summer, and will be publically released in early 2016.
