Cincinnati based charter school firm has violated safety norms, and this violation resulted in the charter school bus company to pay fine. The Washington State regulators have taken action against the violation by imposing fine of around $23,700. The information was stated by the Utilities and Transportation Commission of Washington state.

The fine was announced by the Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) on last Wednesday.

During the routine investigation process in February 2019, the investigator noticed that the First Student had violated more than 150 safety rules and violated state and federal transportation laws regarding safety. Nearly 99 cases of violation were related to the inability of drivers to prepare inspection reports of vehicle and 44 cases were related to allowing drivers to operate buses without carrying out the pre-employment driver’s test. The Washington state has also refused the company’s request for relief. However, there is some relief for the First Student by regulators, and if the company meets the safety needs, then the regulators might agree to reduce a portion of the fine imposed. The news was reported by a source on Sunday.

The newspaper could not get contact the bus company for comment, but the First Student did highlight the significance of safety over its company website.

The regulators also said that if the school bus company meets the safety requirements, then they will withdraw fine of $10,000. Now, the First Student bus company strictly needs to follow the safety guidelines for nearly another two years to get some relief.

The website of the First Student mentions that the company nearly offers more than 500 buses across the state.

Earlier to this, in 2012 Columbus City Schools had closed a contract with the First Student firm and considered of managing its buses by its own.

First Student Company runs across the United States and also operates in the Washington States. The members of UTC had informed the school bus company regarding its violation and imposing of fine in April. To this, the company urged for mitigation but was refused by the commission.

On the company’s website it was written as follows:

“Safety is a core value and a way of life for all our employees. Safety has always been at the heart of everything we do. Because of our dedication to safety school bus transportation, we’re twice as safe as the industry average in collisions.” According to the Utilities and Transportation Commission report, the First Student company offers services to communities such as Colville, Seattle, Vashon Island, Chattaroy (near Spokane), Tenino and Tacoma.