Buses taken off road due to safety concern

LEWISTON – Deputy City Administrator and Chairman of the Lewiston Auburn Transit Committee Phil Nadeau said Thursday that all Blue Bird buses in the Citylink public transit system were removed from the road at noon after a safety problem was discovered by Western Maine Transportation Services.

The safety issue was identified as a loose bolt that secures the upper control arm, or a bolt that holds the front suspension together, of the Blue Bird units. One of the bolts appeared to have broken, which then triggered WMTS technicians to inspect the other three units only to find that the same loose bolt problem existed on all Blue Bird units. Nadeau pointed out that this bolt is not a standard inspection or maintenance issue but appears to be a factory related problem.

Nadeau said there were no interruptions in service and WMTS filled the void left by the four Blue Bird buses with other units it owns.

Nadeau said information about the problem bolts had been shared with Herb Thompson at the Maine Department of Transportation as there may be other Blue Bird buses in Maine that could be affected by the bolt discovery.

For information, contact Phil Nadeau, deputy city administrator, Lewiston, at 784-2951, ext. 114, by fax at 777-4621, or e-mail pnadeau@ci.lewiston.me.us.