Red Tape Alert

Rockland County NY - At least 9 brand new buses have been sitting since November due to bureaucratic red tape according to The Journal News report.

The brand new MCI commuter coaches came without the required "Buy American" paperwork to prove at least 60% of the bus was assembled in the United States.

Given the fact that the buses have already been paid for by Federal and State funds, having them sit over a paperwork snafu is a bit on the ridiculous side. Once the paperwork arrives from MCI, the buses will continue to sit until the papers are audited to ensure 60% of the bus was assembled in the US.

It's a waste of needed resources to keep these buses, which are already paid for, out of service when they are needed over such a trivial issue. I shouldn't be surprised though, public transit in general is drowning in sea of bureaucratic red tape.

Those buses should have been put in service when they arrived. If the paperwork shows that the buses failed the 60% rule, then sue the manufacturer.

Under the current setup, all that would happen is the manufacturer would replace a few parts on the buses, it would then pass the audit and the same buses that initially failed would then be accepted. Keeping these buses out of service, given that MCI is a reliable manufacturer and sells to many transit operation, is a dumb move in my opinion.