Tourist bus companies that operate with blank charter licenses are at risk of being charged heavy fines and shut down, senior transport officials have warned.

Zhao Ruihua, deputy director of road traffic safety for the State Administration of Work Safety, said the Ministry of Transport issues charter licenses only after subjecting a company's qualifications to scrutiny, looking, for instance, at its safety records and the drivers it employs.

Some companies, though, run their businesses using blank or forged licenses, which impedes efforts to make the roads safer, he said.