By Su Chin-feng and Esme Yeh / Staff reporter, with staff writer

Geya Bus Transportation Co’s (巨業交通) right to operate a prime route in Taichung has been suspended for three months following a fatal traffic accident on Sunday, Taichung Transportation Bureau Director-General Yeh Chao-fu (葉昭甫) said yesterday.

Geya is the nation’s first bus operator to be deprived of operating rights to a prime route due to traffic safety concerns, he said, adding that the city endeavors to safeguard the safety of citizens.

A city bus operated by Geya hit two Tunghai University students crossing a road in Taichung, killing one and injuring the other.

Geya Bus Transportation Co’s buses are pictured in Taipei yesterday.

Photo: Chang Hsuan-tse, Taipei Times

The bus driver was not paying close attention before he made a left turn even though the vehicle’s assistance system sent a warning signal, Yeh said.

As such, the company’s operational right of access to Taiwan Boulevard route No. 300 — its most profitable route — has been suspended for three months from today and transferred to United Highway Bus Co (統聯客運) and Taichung Bus (台中客運), he said.

The deprivation of the right of access to route No. 300 could be indefinite and extended to other prime routes if Geya fails to make improvements or commits more violations in the next three months, he added.

The punishment follows the five measures that the city government has imposed following the incident: a fine of NT$1.2 million (US$37,869) on Geya, requiring all city bus operators to provide road safety training for drivers within 10 days, strengthening safety controls in the top 20 accident-prone intersections in the city, stepping up punishments for bus operators causing major traffic accidents, and installing a driver assistance system on all city buses by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) yesterday inspected the busy intersection of Wunsin Road and Jhongcing Road amid rising public concern over traffic safety.

Enforcement of traffic regulations began on Wednesday and will continue until city bus drivers get rid of bad driving habits, Lu said.

Traffic violations such as overtaking, suddenly changing lanes, a zigzagging and failing to give way to pedestrians would incur severe punishment, including suspension of operating rights, she said, urging Taichung Police Commissioner Lee Wen-chang (李文章) to also fine drivers of other vehicles who fail to give way to pedestrians.

Good driving habits are crucial to ensure pedestrian safety, as buses are large vehicles and have more blind spots, Lu added.

The city government has in recent years been subsidizing the installation of vision-based driver assistance systems for bus operators, and 1,100 out of the city’s more than 1,300 buses have already installed such a system, she said, adding that the remaining 200 buses would be equipped by the end of the year.

While the bus involved in the accident has an assistance system, which gave a flash alert, it unfortunately failed to ward off an accident, so the importance of good driving habits cannot be overstated, Lu said.

Crosswalks used to be set up right at intersections, but the city has been moving them a little further away — which would allow more response time for drivers making turns — in line with the national policy, she said.

The redrawing of crosswalks has started with those near schools and hospitals, with the road enhancement of 156 sites expected to be completed by the end of next month, Lu said.

School-zone sidewalks would continue to be enhanced as well, in addition to the 123 schools that have done so, she added.

The city has made improvements to 13 accident-prone intersections across the city and should finish work on another 19 sites by the end of this month and complete work for all 63 intersections by the end of the year, she said.