Defects prompts CTA to park buses

The Chicago Transit Authority has permanently parked 225 accordion-style buses after finding cracks and structural defects it says calls into question their safety.

The CTA and North American Bus Industries Inc., builders of the buses, are locked in a dispute in Cook County Circuit Court after negotiations reached an impasse several years ago. The two sides are trying to determine how much the CTA, the busmaker and taxpayers will be on the hook for in the $102.1 million purchase agreement.

According to CTA officials, the buses have frame cracks, and widespread failures of various structural components that should not occur in vehicles averaging about four years old and with relatively low mileage.

CTA president Richard Rodriguez says the agency plans to return the buses to the Alabama-based manufacturer.