Ride the Ducks unlikely to resume operations until next year

OLYMPIA — It’s unlikely that Seattle’s Ride the Ducks tour vehicles will be back on the streets before next year. That’s the word from state regulators.

Ride the Ducks was shut down after one of its amphibious vehicles collided with a tour bus on the Aurora Bridge on Sept. 24. The crash killed five North Seattle College students.

The Seattle Times reports the state Utilities and Transportation Commission said during a hearing Tuesday that the final report on the company’s safety practices won’t be delivered until mid-December, which would be followed by a hearing.

The end-of-year holidays means a hearing on the suspension of the company’s operations wouldn’t likely be held before January.

The commission is investigating the crash and has alleged that the company broke federal safety laws and state rules. They claimed at least one of the vehicles operated in an unsafe manner.

A lawyer for the company had hoped that some the smaller Duck vehicles could return to service this month.

The National Transportation Safety Board is also investigating the crash.