Adam Tuss, wtop.com
ROCKVILLE, MD – Montgomery County could be pursuing legal action against the manufacturer of the troubled Champion model Ride On buses.
The county pulled the entire fleet of Champion buses out of service permanently last week, after the seventh fire with those buses in recent years.
“We will continue to challenge them,” Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett says in regards to Champion Bus, Inc. “We are examining what process we can take to make sure that the county is whole.”
The company, based in Michigan, also manufactured its buses in part by Navistar Inc, of Fort Wayne Indiana.
Ride On service is operating on a modified holiday schedule Monday and Tuesday because dozens of the Champion model buses were removed from the fleet. The county expects to have normal service back on Wednesday, after more buses are brought in to handle the passenger load.
Leggett says as long as he is in charge, a Champion model bus will never again roll on county roads.
“We’ve had too many incidents,” he says.
No one has been hurt seriously because of the bus fires. Champion and Navistar have not responded to requests for comment.
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