Bus Line Will Pay $20,000 Civil Penalty

A bus line catering to farm workers that stops at Oxnard has agreed to pay a $20,000 civil penalty after being accused of operating unsafe buses, county prosecutors said Tuesday.

Last June, Ventura County prosecutors said in a lawsuit that Transportes Intercalifornias Inc. operated buses with faulty brakes, holes in their floorboards and inoperable emergency doors, among other defects.

An inspection of buses at the company’s office at 102 E. 5th St. in Oxnard by the California Highway Patrol earlier this year showed that the conditions of the buses had improved drastically, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Schwartz.

Los Angeles-based Transportes carries 300,000 passengers annually, including 30,000 from Oxnard, on a route that extends from Tijuana to Fresno. Though it agreed to pay the fine and to maintain its fleet according to state safety regulations, the company acknowledged no wrongdoing.

A lawyer for the company has said that the buses have always been dependable, carrying passengers hundreds of thousands of miles without any major accidents. The attorney also said the company provides an important mode of transportation for its clients, who would resort to less dependable bus firms to travel if Transportes went out of business because of the lawsuit.

In 1991 and 1993, Transportes was put on probation for operating unsafe buses.