Officials to Monitor LAX Shuttle Vans More Closely : Safety: Citing recurring violations, commissioners plan increased inspections and stricter licensing requirements.

In an effort to improve the safety of airport shuttle vans, state regulators and Los Angeles International Airport officials plan to increase van inspections and step up scrutiny of the shuttle industry, officials said.

Half of all carriers servicing LAX are under investigation by the Public Utilities Commission for a list of violations including faulty brakes, bald tires, defective steering mechanisms, unlicensed drivers and operating without insurance, The Times reported last month.

“The airport commission wants to do whatever is within its lawful power to ensure the safety of passengers and customers of LAX--whether it’s in the air or on the ground going home,” said Ted Stein, president of the Los Angeles Airport Commission.

During the past year, the California Highway Patrol and the Public Utilities Commission launched three unannounced safety inspections at the airport. In the most recent, 23 of 55 randomly selected vans--42%-- were cited as an imminent danger to the public and ordered towed away. By comparison, the failure rates for buses and heavy trucks are 30% and 23%, respectively, according to the CHP.

“Either the fear of being caught isn’t great enough or the sanctions aren’t getting the message across,” said Bill Schulte, director of transportation at the PUC, which issues operating permits to the van carriers.

Airport and PUC officials say the shuttle industry has deteriorated because no agency is required to conduct routine safety inspections of the vans. The PUC has no vehicle inspectors. The Highway Patrol regularly inspects buses that carry more than 10 passengers. But because airport shuttle vans carry fewer than 10 passengers, no agency routinely inspects them.

CHP officials, under a tight budget, say they must set priorities.

“There is a significant number of safety hazards associated with these vehicles, but we are pretty strapped for staff,” said Linn Holmes, manager of the CHP’s motor carrier safety program. “One van that gets away and crashes isn’t going to do as much as one bus that gets away and crashes. So resources are more properly focused on buses.”

Stein and other airport officials said they are considering establishing a program of van inspections similar to one at San Francisco International Airport. Officials in San Francisco conduct their own inspections of shuttle vans and expect to soon suspend six companies because of safety problems. Los Angeles airport commissioners will vote on a similar plan within two months, Stein said.

“Regulation of the van industry has been a problem for years--it’s incumbent upon us to put some teeth in what we can regulate,” said Jack Driscoll, executive director of the airport.

Critics of the Public Utilities Commission, however, say the agency is dodging its responsibility by allowing the airport to conduct inspections.

“The PUC has a responsibility to the public to verify the vans’ safety; they are sidestepping the issue,” said Stephen W. Kent, whose daughter was allegedly overcharged and verbally abused when she took a shuttle to Kent’s Laguna Beach home.

PUC officials say they will monitor the industry more rigorously, and make several key changes to beef up enforcement. Obtaining operating permits, for instance, will become more difficult, Schulte said. Authorities check criminal and driving records of taxi driver candidates, but PUC officials have never conducted such background checks in the shuttle van industry.

The PUC has begun making these checks on all shuttle company applicants, Schulte said, but not on shuttle van drivers. PUC investigators will also begin investigating accidents involving airport shuttle vans. Such investigations, Schulte said, may enable the agency to determine if unsafe operation contributed to an accident or if a carrier has a pattern of accidents.

In addition, PUC officials will start conducting face-to-face interviews with all applicants for operating permits, emphasizing safety requirements, Schulte said. On Dec. 21, the PUC will hold a safety seminar for the shuttle carriers--the first of its kind. Although attendance is not mandatory, officials say it is strongly encouraged.

Hoping to get an early warning of potential problems, PUC and airport officials have changed the way customer complaints are handled.

Until now, the airport, the PUC, and Shared Ride Management, an industry group, received complaints from passengers. In the past 22 months, 540 complaints were lodged with the three groups. Of those, 338 were filed with the industry group. But because there was no system of sharing information, neither the PUC nor the airport was aware of the number of complaints.

“Those complaints are really telling us something is seriously wrong with the system,” Schulte said. “We have to listen to the public closer than we have in the past.”

Schulte and airport officials say they have set up a system that will allow complaints to be shared so that both the PUC and airport can more closely monitor the industry.

“We think each element in itself may cause incremental improvement. Certainly, the proof will be in the pudding,” Schulte said. “We hope shuttle carriers understand that if we don’t get you today, we will tomorrow.”