Washington ( CNN ) -- Calling it the single largest crackdown on bus companies that the Department of Transportation has ever undertaken , Secretary Ray LaHood announced Thursday the agency has shut down 26 bus operators for breaking federal safety rules . He declared the operations imminent hazards to public safety . Officials also ordered `` 10 individual bus company owners , managers and employees to cease all passenger transportation operations , which includes selling bus tickets to passengers , '' the Transportation Department said in a news release . `` These operators transport over 1,800 passengers a day , up and down the I-95 corridor from New York to Florida , '' LaHood said . `` This crackdown is a victory for bus safety and the people who ride these buses . '' The 26 shutdown orders apply to nine active companies , 13 companies already ordered out of service that were continuing to operate , three companies attempting to apply for operating authority and one ticket seller , the Transportation Department said . All told , the companies operate between 30 and 35 buses and are based out of Georgia , Indiana , Maryland , New York , North Carolina and Pennsylvania , according to the department . Officials allege the companies operated buses that needed repair , failed to test drivers for alcohol and drugs , failed to properly document driver medical qualifications , and kept the drivers behind the wheel beyond legal limits . `` People get up every day and use a lot of different forms of transportation without thinking about the safety factor , and we do n't want them to worry about the safety of the bus they ride on or the highway they drive on , '' LaHood said . The crackdown was triggered after a series of deadly bus accidents and was the culmination of a yearlong investigation by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration , the Transportation Department arm tasked with regulating bus safety . On May 31 , 2011 , one year to the day before Thursday 's announcement , four passengers were killed and 53 others injured in a Virginia bus accident . Investigators claim fatigue on the part of driver Kin Yiu Cheung caused the bus to run off the road and overturn . Cheung faces four counts of involuntary manslaughter and is slated to go to trial June 25 , the Caroline County Virginia court clerk told CNN . `` The crash and other fatal crashes like it that occurred along I-95 last year led our agency to conduct this unprecedented one-year investigation into dangerous and illegal bus companies operating in violation to our basic safety standards , '' Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator Anne Ferro told reporters . In another accident , Ophadell Williams , 40 , was behind the wheel of a tour bus that crashed into a roadside barrier in New York , killing 15 passengers . After the crash , New York state 's inspector general revealed that Williams should not have been given a commercial bus driver license , but was able to obtain one by allegedly using fake names and false information . The Transportation Department 's statement said it has doubled the number of bus inspections of the nation 's estimated 4,000 passenger bus companies , from 12,991 in 2005 to 28,982 in 2011 . The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration shut down three primary companies -- Apex Bus Inc. , I-95 Coach Inc. and New Century Travel Inc. -- which oversaw a broad network of other bus companies . `` Through the course of our investigations our enforcement teams found multiple patterns of glaring violations by the three networks of enterprises , '' Ferro said . She said the companies `` found loopholes '' and managed to get back on the road even after authorities had shut them down . The crackdown on alleged rogue companies was applauded by the American Bus Association , a trade group representing motor coach and tour bus companies . The agency 's actions `` went far beyond random roadside inspections , and ABA very much supports these types of law enforcement efforts . We will continue to support ( the agency ) , and we urge our members to operate at the highest level of safety , '' association President Peter Pantuso said in a statement to CNN . Buses remain a popular mode of transportation for Americans , carrying almost as many passengers each year as commercial airlines . About 750 million passengers ride passenger and tour buses each year , compared with round 800 million passengers on airlines , according to American Bus Association spokesman Dan Ronan . In March , the Transportation Department announced a new program , `` Look Before You Book , '' and a smartphone app that allows users to access the safety records of nearly 6,000 interstate commercial passenger carriers . The records consist of safety and inspection data about private bus lines , school buses and tour bus operators . To use the app , passengers can search the bus company or the company 's registration number . Information provided by the app reveals who owns the bus and the bus company 's safety record . A check of the app by CNN showed the companies involved with Thursday 's announcement were `` not allowed to operate . ''
The Department of Transportation says 26 bus operators broke safety rules . `` These operators transport over 1,800 passengers a day , '' Secretary Ray LaHood says . Thirteen of the companies had been ordered out of service but continued to operate .