Miami Bus Service will continue its shuttle service between UF and South Florida this holiday season despite scrutiny after one of the company’s buses crashed in Miami, killing two people.
The bus service, which is among the commuter services used by UF students for trips out of town, was carrying a group of Jehovah’s Witnesses when the driver took a wrong turn into Miami International Airport, according to The Miami Herald. The bus crashed into an overpass that was too low for it to pass under. Two men, ages 86 and 56, died from the crash, according to The Miami Herald.
Mayling Hernandez, co-owner of Miami Bus Service, said bus service will continue as usual for UF students.
“This is an accident,” she said. “It’s something you cannot predict.”
UF Transportation and Parking Services director Scott Fox said UF doesn’t have contractual agreements with commuter bus services.
“We don’t partner with them,” he said. “We don’t hire them.”
He said the only control UF has over bus services that frequent UF, including Miami Bus Service, is that UF tells the services where they can park on campus. The buses can load students on the Commuter Lot service drive and a bus shelter by the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.
Hernandez said the driver in the crash isn’t driving with the company anymore.
“We’ve never had an accident,” she said, “not even a minor one.”
Contact Meredith Rutland at mrutland@alligator.org.
