Megabus is not having a very good week. The company settled a wrongful death lawsuit, agreeing to pay $5.1 million to the family of a man hit and killed by a Megabus in a downtown Chicago crosswalk in 2010. The day before the settlement was announced, another Megabus hit and killed another elderly pedestrian in a crosswalk just a few blocks away from where the 2010 accident occurred. Last week, a bus leaving Chicago hit an overpass, killing one passenger and injuring dozens more. Oh, and a Charlotte-bound bus caught fire in Georgia this week, too. The National Transportation Safety Board declined to investigate this week’s incidents, and Governor Pat Quinn isn’t happy about that.

Yesterday, Quinn issued a public letter to Secretary of Transportation (and former Illinois congressman) Ray Lahood, urging the federal government to investigate the company and find out whether the two accidents in such a short time were a coincidence, or part of a larger and problematic pattern at the company.

“We believe that a full federal investigation into the operations and history of the firm would provide a baseline for any policy changes or other considerations that might logically result from what is learned about these crashes,” he wrote.

In addition to the two accidents in Illinois, another bus caught fire in Georgia on Wednesday after blowing a tire. No passengers were hurt in that incident.

Quinn calls for Megabus investigation following 2 fatal accidents [Chicago Tribune]
Charlotte-bound Megabus catches fire in Georgia [Charlotte Observer]
Megabus settles lawsuit in 2010 Chicago incident [CBS]

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