Megabus.com leads city-to-city bus industry with seat belts for each passenger

NEW YORK, Nov. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Megabus.com, the popular city-to-city, express bus company with fares from $1, today praised action by The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to require lap/shoulder seat belts for each passenger in all new city-to-city ("over-the-road") buses. 

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131121/CG22211)

"Megabus.com has equipped every bus purchased since 2006 with three-point lap/shoulder seat belts, providing the top safety standard for megabus.com's 30 million passengers in more than 120 cities across North America," said Dale Moser, President & COO of megabus.com. "Megabus.com is pleased that NHTSA has taken action to require similar lap/shoulder seat belts, providing the same level of belt safety on all new city-to-city buses in the future."

NHTSA said their standards – schedule to be published in the Federal Register on November 25 – take effect in 3 years for all new buses sold, and do not include retrofit requirement for existing buses.

Note to Editor: Links to story-specific photos and b-roll content below

Megabus.com high-resolution photos and broadcast-quality video for download:

SEAT BELT PHOTO: http://bit.ly/1h5siTJ

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS: http://bit.ly/megabus_photos
B-ROLL VIDEO: http://bit.ly/westcoastmegaB

ABOUT MEGABUS.COM
Megabus.com is one of the largest privately funded providers of city-to-city express bus transportation and serves more than 120 cities in North America, including routes operated by other Coach USA subsidiaries.

Megabus.com is the first express bus line to offer high-quality travel for as low as $1 via the Internet. Megabus.com operates service from 13 hubs in Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Texas Triangle (Dallas, Houston, San Antonio), Washington D.C. and Toronto - creating more than 1,000 new, professional jobs. Visit www.megabus.com for a complete list of cities served.

Service for megabus.com operates daily. Fares shown are one-way and include all government taxes. Each year megabus.com carries nine million customers safely on more than 200,000 trips using the most modern fleet of double-decker buses on this continent. Since its launch on April 10, 2006, megabus.com has served more than 30 million travelers. For the latest news and travel deals, follow megabus.com on Twitter at @megabus and Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/megabus.com.officialpage.

Megabus.com is a subsidiary of Coach USA, one of the largest transportation companies in North America, and maintains the highest safety compliance rating (Satisfactory) from the US Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Paramus, N.J.-based Coach USA owns and operates 30 local companies in North America, some that have been in business for more than 70 years, which operate scheduled bus routes, motor coach tours, charters and sightseeing tours.

Additional safety information can be found in the video here: http://youtu.be/lUOa48278mM

ABOUT NHTSA SEAT BELT RULE
The Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has released the long-awaited seat belt Final Rule. The rule (docket no. NHTSA-2013-0121) amends the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) on occupant protection to require lap/shoulder seat belts for each passenger seating position in: (a) all new over-the-road buses; and (b) in new buses other than over-the-road buses with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of greater than 26,000 pounds. The effective date of the rule is three years and one day after the date of publication in Federal Register, which is scheduled for 11/25/2013.

NHTSA estimates that installing lap/shoulder seat belts on covered new buses will save 1.7 to 9.2 lives per year. It further estimates the cost of adding lap/shoulder belts as $2,110 per vehicle, with lifetime fuel costs due to increased weight of the bus as an additional $794 to $1,077 per vehicle.

Publication of the regulation (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards: Occupant Crash Protection) in the Federal Register is scheduled on November 25, 2013. Visit http://federalregister.gov/a/2013-28211

SOURCE Megabus.com