Bus driver busts: 84% of beleaguered company’s school buses couldn’t pass inspections this spring – NJ.com

On Friday, Essex County authorities said they caught a bus company employing wanted and uncredentialed people as school bus drivers. But there have been red flags about A-1 Elegant of Paterson going back several years.

That includes the September arrest of a man who was allegedly under the influence when he crashed a bus in East Orange with a student aboard into four cars. His attorney later said he was a mechanic for A-1 Elegant who showed up to work that day and was asked to drive a bus.

There was also the NorthJersey.com report last summer that Paterson schools canceled a contract and broke off its relationship with the company after numerous inspection violations and a child who was left on a bus.

More recently, state Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) records show that during the last round of inspections in March, only 14 of 87 of the company’s school buses that were inspected were able to pass their initial inspection.

During those inspections, 84% of the buses could not pass and the company had to make some kind of repairs, according to MVC records.

Of the buses inspected, 61% had to be taken out of service because the violations had to be fixed immediately, the records show. The violations ranged from missing headlights to issues with the fire extinguishers and handles on emergency doors, or brakes in need of replacement. All but four of the buses have been re-inspected and passed, according to the MVC.

One of the buses failed not only for safety defects like a broken parking brake, but also because the driver was not permitted by law to drive a school bus with kids aboard. The person only had their CDL learner’s permit, the MVC inspector reported.

The issues with the Paterson-based company came to a head Friday when Newark police and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office raided its offices and stopped buses to check the credentials of school bus drivers.

They found that eight drivers — more than half of those checked — did not have the proper credentials to be driving students, the prosecutor’s office said. The office said police also arrested two bus drivers and one aide after realizing they had warrants.

The prosecutor’s office has not released their names or details about the charges.

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A law that strips a school bus driver’s license after a second offense hasn’t stopped students from being left behind.

If the announcement Friday caused alarm among school districts doing business with A-1 Elegant, the districts have been tight-lipped about it. Calls and emails to the five districts that contract with the company, with the exception of Passaic City schools, were not returned Monday.

Asked whether the revelation would impact Passaic school district’s decision to keep doing business with A-1 Elegant, spokesman Keith Furlong said only that officials “will determine transportation options available at the end of the school year at the end of June.”

He confirmed the company was busing students in Passaic Monday and covers 27 routes in the city.

The other districts contracting with the company are Newark, Jersey City, Essex County Regional Educational Services Commission and South Bergen Jointure Commission.

Attempts to reach A-1 Elegant and its owner by phone and email were unsuccessful Monday. Owner Shelim Khalique is the brother of Paterson councilman Shahin Khalique.

Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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