Tourist buses in Banff National Park targeted in RCMP roadside inspection blitz

Over the span of two days,RCMP in Banff National Park inspected passenger buses for safety and found some of those vehicles were unfit to be on the road or were missing required documentation.

RCMP and Parks Canada staff conducted joint vehicle inspections at Moraine Lake, along with their provincial enforcement partners and commercial vehicle inspectors on Wednesday and Thursday.

This year is the first that Moraine Lake Road is closed to private vehicles, which meant many wanting to visit the popular attraction needed to rely on buses and shuttles, which were targeted by the roadside inspections.

The inspections resulted in at least 10tickets being issued, with an average of 20 shuttles inspected.

One shuttle was towed because ofissues with itsbrakesand tires; two drivers had missing documentation;and one bus from Washington was not allowed to stay because it didn't have a business licence to operate in the national park.

RCMP Const. Mathieu Quimper, part of the joint vehicle enforcement operation at Moraine Lake, said officers looked at the mechanical fitness of the vehicles and whether or not they were safe to be on the road. They also looked for drivers licences and registration paperwork.

"Those buses that contain a lot of people, a lot of visitors, they need to be safe. It's a huge volume of them. It's a lot of people that are trusting those companies and those drivers to take them to visit those beautiful places in the safest way possible," Quimper said.

"Our goal here is to catch it before it becomes a real issue where you have people in danger."

Loreen Moenckert, an Explore Banff driver, was among those stopped in the roadside check, which she passed.

She said the officer asked for the permits needed to operate a commercial vehicle, drivers licence, and drivers log book,which includes a pre-trip vehicle inspection.

"We are transporting people over a certain distance and safety is our first priority for our clients," she said.