THE tyres of a tourist coach at the Twelve Apostles were so worn they had canvas showing, a safety blitz found.
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A Melbourne bus company will be investigated after authorities made the shocking discovery this week.
Senior Constable Ash Ellemor, of Port Campbell police, said a joint operation was conducted on Tuesday with Transport Safety Victoria officers at the Twelve Apostles car park.
Eighteen tour buses were checked and one Melbourne coach carrying international tourists was found to have two defective tyres — canvas was showing through one and another was severely worn. It took about two hours for replacement tyres to be brought from Cobden and fitted.
Senior Constable Ellemor said the tyre defects would prompt safety officials to investigate the rest of the company’s bus fleet.
“Two buses were found to have defects. One of those had major defects to two inside tyres on dual wheels,” he said.
“Bus companies are on notice that these inspection operations are ongoing. The company we identified this week will now come under further scrutiny in future.”
Senior Constable Ellemor said bus companies which maintained high standards supported the inspections, which were aimed at improving safety of the industry.
He also asked that members of the public who noticed poor bus driving take down registration numbers and note the time, date and location so police could make follow-up inquiries.
“There are a lot of buses operating along the Great Ocean Road. Bus safety is a major issue for not just bus travellers but all road users,” he said.
“We are a bit disappointed. This is the sixth year of these operations. We run at least two a year. The bus companies know we run them and we’re still finding buses with major defects.”
The issue was highlighted by a bus accident along the Great Ocean Road near Princetown in July in which two Korean tourists died.