Toledo bus company told to halt all interstate trip service

U.S. says firm lacks registration

5/3/2013
BLADE STAFF

A Toledo-based bus company has been ordered to stop all interstate bus service.

The U.S. Department of Transportation said Destiny Tours failed to obtain proper federal operating authority.

“We are going to continue to use every tool we have to ensure bus companies comply with federal regulations,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement. “Bus companies that attempt to dodge safety regulations by not properly registering have no place on our nation’s roadways.”

According to the government, Destiny Tours made five interstate trips “beyond the scope of its registration.” A review of company records by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration found that the company’s owner, Derrick Jones, served as the driver of the vehicle on all five of those trips.

The trips were between Monroe and Sandusky; between Taylor, Mich., and Sandusky; between Toledo and Washington, D.C., and two trips between Toledo and Auburn Hills, Mich.

Mr. Jones, reached Thursday by phone, said he was the driver for a 54-passenger bus owned by Destiny Baptist Church in Toledo. Mr. Jones said the trip to Auburn Hills for a Detroit Pistons game was a fund-raiser for the church.

The Blade could find no record or contact information for a church by that name.

According to Department of Transportation records, Destiny Tours is registered at 2106 Mansfield Road in Toledo, which is a residential address.