A Mountain Top bus line once honored with the motorcoach industry's highest award faces possible civil penalties for operating excursions without state and federal authority.

Auto-Bus, one of several businesses owned by Edward Deets, has been shut down by the Federal Motor Coach Safety Administration and the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission for not having insurance. The federal agency oversees interstate travel and the PUC has jurisdiction over trips within Pennsylvania.

Auto-Bus has not had authority to operate interstate bus trips since August 2003, according to Ian Grossman, director of communications for the Federal Motor Coach Safety Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The federal agency issued an out-of-service order against the Wright Township bus company on March 23, demanding that Auto-Bus cease operations. Law-enforcement officials have been urged to stop the Auto-Bus vehicles if they are on the road, Grossman said.

After losing federal authority to operate its buses 2 ½ years ago, Auto-Bus was fined in August 2004 for ignoring the order and running bus trips to other states.

The PUC also has levied fines totaling $8,000 against the company on four separate occasions, PUC spokeswoman Cyndi Page said. The state regulatory body revoked the company's certificate to operate in 2004 due to lack of insurance.

Page said Auto-Bus, which is registered as Central Florida Coach Lines and Orange Blossom Coach, paid the fines on March 8 but is prohibited from running in-state trips.

"They have no (state) authority and would have to come back in and reapply," she said. "They can't offer intrastate trips and on the federal side, can't offer interstate trips, either."

Auto-Bus, which runs regular trips to destinations such as New York and Atlantic City, has been using buses from Martz Trailways and other companies to fulfill its obligations to its customers.

Martz sales manager Ted Patton confirmed that Deets' company has been using Martz coaches for about two weeks and has vehicles booked for at least two more weeks.

Deets on Thursday acknowledged that his fleet is without insurance but said it's a temporary situation. He said he was unaware of action taken by the federal or state regulators.

"We're negotiating with three different companies for the best price," Deets said. "We have the authority to operate but we don't have the proper insurance."

Brokering trips and using vehicles owned by other licensed and insured companies and driven by that company's drivers is acceptable on both the state and federal levels.

Deets, who founded the trucking company in 1947, launched Auto-Bus in 1974. In 2000, Deets was honored by his peers with the industry's highest award, the United Motorcoach Association's Vision Award.

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