The owner of decommissioned bus company Lincolnland Express, better known as LEX, will open a new service called Illini Express starting spring break.
Illini Express will begin selling tickets March 15 for weekend rides to Chicago area malls. Company owner Robert Frazier said Illini Express will hire former Lincolnland Express, or LEX, employees but will be renting vehicles from other companies.
Trips that LEX buses used to service to Midway and O’Hare airports will not be offered but may be considered in the future.
LEX was shut down in December by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and is awaiting approval of a 600-page corrective action plan. Shashunga Clayton, public affairs specialist of the safety administration, said the plan is still undergoing review.
“When LEX gets its authority back from the federal government, LEX will be doing the daily service,” he said.
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The administration issued the company several violations in October, which included false reporting of records, use of buses that were not periodically inspected and failure to properly maintain vehicle parts and accessories.
According to data from the Department of Transportation, 47 percent of inspections of LEX vehicles over the last two years have revealed violations that must be corrected before being allowed back on the road.
“I designed my buses, which were an older style model of a bus, that they (the FMCSA) didn’t like, and pretty much, that led to a lot of my problems,” Frazier said. “If I was that bad, they should have shut me completely down, but they didn’t. They said you are okay, but you can’t do the regular schedule.”
Frazier was referring to his other company, Illini Tours, a charter bus service for group trips, which has not received any warnings from the FMCSA.
He said after LEX was shut down, he realized how much the business meant to him.
“I really loved this business more than I thought I did,” he said. “LEX (is) ingrained into the community … so that has given me the passion to want to come back and do it again.”
Frazier said refunds for LEX tickets are still being distributed to students.
Carina can be reached at [email protected].
