Chinatown bus lines

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This article refers to intercity bus travel. For Chinese-owned public transit within a single city, see Dollar Van.
Passengers waiting at the Fung Wah Lines ticket window on Canal Street and the Bowery in Manhattan
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Passengers waiting at the Fung Wah Lines ticket window on Canal Street and the Bowery in Manhattan

Chinatown bus lines, also called 野雞車 (yě jī chē, which translates as wild chicken trucks) in Chinese, refers to the private transportation industry that has arisen in the Chinatown communities of the East Coast of the United States since 1998. Similar Chinese American-run bus services are cropping up on the West Coast.

The companies typically use large (50 to 60 passenger) buses comparable to those used by other passenger bus lines and often screen movies for riders.

Contents

[edit] History

A 2000 Coach bus in NYC, August 2004
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A 2000 Coach bus in NYC, August 2004

The first company to offer such services was the Fung Wah Bus, which began routes between New York City and Boston in 1998.[1] The bus service was originally intended for transporting ethnic Chinese restaurant workers from one Chinatown to Chinatowns in other cities. Now, some bus lines are also used to transport large groups of mainly Chinese and Vietnamese immigrants to and from casinos such as Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, which are located in Connecticut. These gambling buses build upon the popularity of older bus routes to Atlantic City that also targeted Asian American customers.[2]

Given their relatively competitive fares to the mainstream Greyhound Lines, it has become popular among non-Chinese customers as well, especially students. The bus service has gained such popularity that it was mentioned in several articles in the New York Times and on the radio programs Marketplace and Morning Edition on National Public Radio. Recently, competition has come from the Jewish-owned Washington Deluxe and Vamoose, both of which have mostly non-Chinese customers.[3][4] Unlike the Chinatown buses, however, these bus companies observe the Jewish Sabbath and do not run on Friday nights or Saturdays.

Increasing popularity has also lead to increasing regulatory interest. In September 2004, the City of Boston required Chinatown bus services to shift their operations from the city's Chinatown to the South Station transportation terminal.

[edit] Operation

Passengers waiting to board the Travel Pack bus to Boston in Manhattan
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Passengers waiting to board the Travel Pack bus to Boston in Manhattan

In addition to New York City and Boston, several bus line companies also link to the Chinatowns of Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Doraville in the Atlanta, Georgia area, and other cities. On the West Coast, buses link the Chinatowns in the San Francisco Bay area, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles Chinatown and the San Gabriel Valley, and the Las Vegas Chinatown and casinos.

Many competitors offer discount prices that undercut the major bus lines. Typical fares between East Coast cities range from $10 to $20. The industry has become highly competitive with companies offering hourly service between major cities. The Appalachian extensions of these lines tend to offer less of a price advantage: in August 2006, one-way fares from New York to Pittsburgh on the Chinese-owned All State were $35 compared with $45 advance through Greyhound Lines, while tickets from State College, Pennsylvania to New York were $35, compared to $46.00 for Greyhound.(Source: Greyhound website)[5]

Chinatown busses also run express, usually making no stops between the departure and destination points. This typically results in shorter travel times. The aforementioned trip from State College, PA to New York City takes about four hours on the chinatown bus, compaired with over seven hours on Greyhound.

The use of such lines is very informal. Often ticket booths are walk-up windows on the street, or are located inside restaurants and bakeries throughout a given Chinatown community. Some lines even simply collect cash-payment after passengers have boarded the bus. With the exception of Boston, the lines use no stations of their own. Passengers are usually directed to wait along a given curbside for the arrival of the bus, although many companies offer waiting areas at or near the pickup points. Several bus stops are also near major hotels and in the parking areas of major Chinese supermarkets. In New York, several bus lines pick up passengers on a stretch of Forsyth Street at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge (marked as "88 East Broadway" on itineraries). The sidewalk here, between Canal Street and East Broadway, serves as a de facto terminal.

The bus routes have expanded with three bus companies now running between Manhattan Chinatown and Virginia Beach/Norfolk. Today's Bus has a station in Norfolk and Tiger Travel has one in Virginia Beach.

[edit] Selected events

  • In 2003 and 2004, a string of bus arsons, driver assaults, and murders in New York City were linked the possible infiltration of Asian organized crime gangs into the industry.[6][7]
  • A June 18, 2004 editorial in the Boston Globe criticized Peter Pan Bus Lines' attempt to use its virtual monopoly on gates at Boston South Station to shut out competition from Fung Wah Bus.[8]
  • On March 18, 2005, a Boston-bound Chinatown bus operated by Travel Pack stopped and evacuated its passengers on the Massachusetts Turnpike shortly before bursting into flames. No one was injured. The Boston Globe covered the incident.
  • In July 2005, Fung Wah Bus, a Boston-New York carrier, attracted the attention of the Massachusetts attorney general for illegally refusing to transport handicapped passengers. The Boston Herald covered the matter.
  • On August 16, 2005, a New York-bound Fung Wah bus caught fire on Interstate 91 near Meriden, Connecticut. Though the passengers later criticized the driver for being unhelpful and untrained in evacuating the bus, all passengers were eventually evacuated and no injuries were reported. [9]
    • After the August 16 incident, the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Energy instituted a policy of holding three surprise inspections per month on all bus companies that leave South Station in Boston. New York senator Chuck Schumer proposed a four-point federal plan that includes surprise inspections and creating a national safety standard for bus operators. New York may institute a similar policy; however, inspections would be difficult in New York because the buses do not all leave the city from the same location. WNYC ran a short news story on the topic.
  • In February 2006, a surprise inspection on Forsyth Street in New York's Chinatown resulted in two Washington-bound buses being pulled temporarily out of service and a driver running away from authorities.
  • On August 15, 2006, a Shun Fa bus travelling from New York to Pittsburgh crashed; 10 passengers were seriously injured, with 5 requiring hospitalization. One person was killed.[10]
  • On September 6, 2006, a Fung Wah bus rolled over and caused minor injuries to 34 passengers. Excessive speed was cited as a factor and the bus company was fined.[11][12]

[edit] Bus companies (with areas served underneath their names)

NYC, Arlington/Rosslyn, Bethesda, DC

[edit] References

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  1. ^ Mackenzie Carpenter. "'Chinatown bus services' have grown quickly since 1998", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 16, 2006.
  2. ^ http://news.pajamasmedia.com/2006/07/27/9860062_Atlantic_City_ca.shtml
  3. ^ http://www.chinatown-bus.org/ps/p1/4.html
  4. ^ http://vosizneias.blogspot.com/2006/09/williamsburg-brooklyn-ny-discount-bus.html
  5. ^ Mackenzie Carpenter. "'Chinatown bus services' have grown quickly since 1998", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 16, 2006.
  6. ^ http://leftcenterleft.typepad.com/blog/2004/02/chinatown_bus_m.html
  7. ^ http://www.nychinatown.org/articles/asianwk031117.html
  8. ^ http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2004/06/18/peter_pan_is_a_bully/
  9. ^ http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=98366
  10. ^ Milan Simonich. "10 hurt as tour bus crashes", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 16, 2006.
  11. ^ http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/09/06/34_hurt_driver_cited_for_fung_wah_bus_rollover_in_auburn/
  12. ^ http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/10/31/fung_wah_bus_company_fined_31k_for_rollover/M

[edit] External links

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