Australian Police Carry Out Sweeping Inspections of Private Transit Fleets

Traffic police and Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) officers in Sydney, Australia, have carried out sweeping inspections at the Busabout depot in Smeaton Grange in the southwest part of the city, discovering a string of defects in the Australian city's buses, including those used for school runs, according to a Sky News report. The inspections are part of a continuing crackdown on the transportation industry. Defects were also found at Busways depots in Sydney in June.

The inspections come after a spate of serious bus crashes in Sydney this year, according to the report. The inspections came after two serious crashes last month, including a Busways bus smashing into a home and a cyclist fatality in Mount Druitt. Busabout was not linked to the crashes.

Defects were uncovered on 32 of the 88 buses, with six deemed major, including a bus with no active rear brake lights. Drug and alcohol tests were carried out at the depot but no positive results were recorded, according to the report.

The bus inspections have targeted private operators but police have not ruled out a closer look at the state government's State Transit fleet, according to the Sky News report.