Talk:Chinatown bus lines
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[edit] Chicken trucks? (野雞車)
An anon and a red-linked user keep changing the article to refer to chinatown buses as "chicken trucks". Google returns exactly 2 hits for ""chicken trucks" chinatown", one of which is this page, so I have reverted it each time. If this is Chinese slang, it should be explained as such; it's silly to pretend that the English translation of foreign slang is equivalent to English slang. jdb ❋ (talk) 05:12, 2 August 2005 (UTC)
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- Please refer to the following links...if you search on yahoo Chinese or Chinese web sites you will find plenty of references to "chicken trucks" (野雞車). I did include the chinese word for it to indicate that it is not of English origin, and it's silly to pretend that Chinese nickname doesn't exist when it clearly does.
Okay, I've put back in "dragon bus" which I have heard in both Boston and D.C. for Chinatown bus lines, and clarified that 野雞車 is a Cantonese nickname (although that might be wrong; lots of the hits are in Taiwan so maybe it should be the more broad and link to Chinese spoken language) and added the tone marks for that to the transliteration and put the translation after the inital word. It's a lot clearer that way that it is a Cantonese (or more broadly Chinese) nickname than the way it was originally inserted into the article. Carter 20:51, 3 August 2005 (UTC)
- Just to clarify "dragon bus", while a specific company in Taiwan and elsewhere, is what I've heard used as a generic term in English. Carter 20:52, 3 August 2005 (UTC)
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- Fixed the tone marks, I have never heard of dragon bus as a generic term for the chinatown buses, and I frequently ride these buses. Where did it come from? User:Tc61380
- Thanks for fixing the tone marks. Dragon bus was the term I first heard for them from friends who rode them between D.C. and NYC. I think it came from the graphics on the side of some of buses. See also http://www.thevillager.com/villager_66/picturestory.html. (Also, one little hint, if you place four tildes "~" after your post on a discussion page, it will automatically add your user name and the date; that can be helpful for keeping discussions straight about who said what.) Carter 08:27, 4 August 2005 (UTC)
- Fixed the tone marks, I have never heard of dragon bus as a generic term for the chinatown buses, and I frequently ride these buses. Where did it come from? User:Tc61380
With the exception of Boston, the lines use no stations of their own, but passengers are usually directed to wait along a given curbside for the arrival of the bus. Is this precisely accurate? In Philadelphia, New Century Travel definitely has what could be described as a station of its own - it's a room with chairs and bathrooms where one waits for the bus. I'm not sure what more would be required. john k 07:53, 30 August 2005 (UTC)
68.49.149.159 20:36, 15 November 2005 (UTC)
The term "wild chicken buses" has been used in Taiwan possibly since the 1970s or even earlier. This term was used to describe unauthorized inter-city buses. Some of the unauthorized buses became authorized in the 1980s and 1990s. I think there are very few, if any, unauthorized buses these days in Taiwan. However, some people still call them "wild chicken buses" regardless of their legalized status. I guess when they migrate to the U.S., they call Chinatown buses "wild chicken buses" regardless of legal status.
"Wild chicken" may also be used to describe illegal female prostitutes. "Wild chicken universities" or "wild chicken schools" are diploma mills in colloquial Chinese. "Wild chicken" was originally used in Hong Kong. -- Toytoy 05:12, 12 January 2007 (UTC)
We have been working with many bus operators including Chinatown Bus since 2002. We have never heard such a term within Chinatown bus operators or beyond Chinatown bus operators. This term is definitely an insult to Chinatown bus operators. I strongly suggest that Wiki remove this insulting term. If this term was originated from Taiwan, it has nothing to do with the bus operators in New York or other US cities.
The term is unlikely to describe the Chinatown Bus in the US. The first two charactors in mainland China are meant to be 'prostitution' (see their simplified charactors, 野鸡, are shown in reference 11 from Wiki Mainland Sex Industry). Such implication is now also well understood in Hong Kong and businessmen from Taiwan. If any Chinese news media would dare to use this term to refer 'Chinatown Bus', it will get into a big trouble. It is very shocking that Wiki still use this insulting word, without concrete references, to label Chinatown Bus. Did compititors of Chinatown bus borrow this word to insult Chinatown bus operators?
OK it seems we got nowhere in soliciting an expert to weigh in. I'm untagging this talk page & the article, and I'm going to incorporate the above anon user's concerns in as NPOV a way as possible. Wl219 05:06, 8 April 2007 (UTC)
There is no reference in the website that Chinatown Bus in the US was linked to this insulting word. Why do you keep this here?
- You're right, the Yahoo Taiwan sources talk about 野雞車 in Taiwan but there's no source saying it's connected to the US. I have made further changes to the article. Wl219 18:50, 18 April 2007 (UTC)
[edit] merging the "Chinese bus"
merge, or just make it a redirect. chinatown busline seems more accurate, and more detail. George Leung 05:54, 25 June 2006 (UTC)
- Merge. I have to say this is the first time I've heard the term "Chinese bus" used and I ride the buses fairly often, but if it's a term that's commonly used (which I don't believe it is), a redirect might be appropriate. Ytny 17:40, 25 June 2006 (UTC)
[edit] update price info
The price info un Operation is sorely out of date. I just paid 35 to get to NYC from State College. 67.84.223.220 18:13, 26 November 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Incomplete
The lists of the Busses' areas served is incomplete. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.22.244.119 (talk • contribs) 17:25, 3 December 2006 (UTC).
[edit] Broader topic
It isn't just bus lines in Chinatowns. With pickup times coordinated over the web, intercity lines no longer all need to use a bus terminal, and can therby save major overhead. We should have a general article on the growth of curbside pickup bus lines (there was a good piece on this in the New York Times a while back).--Pharos 19:08, 7 March 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Today's Bus
The list of operators exludes Today's Bus Company - one of the major operators between New York and Washington, as well as Norfolk, Baltimore, and other cities. http://www.todaysbus.com/ —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 128.164.102.4 (talk) 08:11, 23 March 2007 (UTC).
[edit] Safety
Please provide comparable statistics for other carriers. Just listing accidents is very misleading. --Cryout 00:09, 3 November 2007 (UTC)
[edit] New York Times article
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/08/nyregion/thecity/08chin.html --Voidvector (talk) 08:53, 8 June 2008 (UTC)
[edit] Local bus routes
There are local bus routes, e.g between Flushing and Manhattan Chinatown. --Voidvector (talk) 09:33, 8 June 2008 (UTC)
