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This article refers to intercity bus travel. For Chinese-owned public transit within a single city, see Dollar Van.

Chinatown bus lines or dragon buses^[1] refers to the private transportation industry that has arisen in the Chinatown communities of the East Coast of the United States since 1998.^{[citation needed]} Similar Chinese American-run bus services are cropping up on the West Coast. The companies typically use large (50 to 60 passenger)^{[citation needed]} buses comparable to those used by other passenger bus lines and some of them screen movies for riders.^{[citation needed]} The industry in the US is subject to federal and local regulations such as unannounced inspections.^[2]

Contents 1 History 2 Operation 3 Fleet 3.1 Spot Hire/Wet Lease Operations 4 Service 4.1 Routing 5 Crime 6 Safety 7 References 8 See also 9 External links

[edit] History

The first company to offer such services was the Fung Wah Bus, which began routes between New York City and Boston in 1998.^[3] The bus service was originally intended for transporting ethnic Chinese restaurant workers from one Chinatown to Chinatowns in other cities.^{[citation needed]} Now, some bus lines are also used to transport large groups of mainly Chinese and Vietnamese immigrants^{[citation needed]} to and from casinos such as Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, which are located in Connecticut. These gambling buses built upon the popularity of older bus routes to Atlantic City that also targeted Asian American customers.^[4]

Given their relatively competitive fares to the mainstream Greyhound Lines, it has become popular among non-Chinese customers as well, especially students.^{[citation needed]} Recently, competition has come from Megabus and DC Trails, under the Washington Deluxe and Vamoose brands, along with other companies.^[5] More recently, two Chinatown bus companies were purchased by Stagecoach Group, owner of the Megabus operation, with operations assimilated into Megabus.

Increasing popularity has also led to increasing regulatory interest. In September 2004, the City of Boston required all regularly-scheduled intercity bus services to operate exclusively to and from the South Station transportation terminal. Steven Bailey of The Boston Globe suggested that the move was motivated by Peter Pan's and Greyhound's interest in maintaining their monopoly on the New York-Boston bus route, and Timothy Shevlin, executive director of the state Department of Telecommunications and Energy, said, "The big dog out there, Peter Pan, is dead set against [Chinatown bus lines]. They don't want that kind of competition." A complication with this arrangement was that the South Station bus terminal has only 27 gates (along with two departure gates), all of which were used at the time until other companies left.^[6]

[edit] Operation

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In addition to New York City and Boston, several bus line companies also link to the Chinatowns of Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, 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.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]}

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 for Greyhound.^[3]

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

[edit] Fleet

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The fleet used by various Chinabus companies can vary greatly from new coaches to older, pre-owned coaches, and not all units are branded with the operator name other than required USDOT markings, as shown to the right.

[edit] Spot Hire/Wet Lease Operations

To meet peak demand, many Chinatown bus companies use wet leases to provide overflow capacity during the weekend.^{[citation needed]} Some smaller companies use wet leases to provide their core capacity.^[7] Typically, a bus (and a driver) would be chartered from a tour bus operator, a practice also used by mainstream companies such as Greyhound Lines during peak service.

[edit] Service

Chinatown buses run express, usually making no stops between the departure and destination points. This typically results in shorter travel times. The trip from State College, Pennsylvania to New York City takes about four hours on the Chinatown bus, compared to more than 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.^{[citation needed]} Some lines even simply collect cash-payment after passengers have boarded the bus.^{[citation needed]} However, tickets are often sold online, either by the bus companies themselves or by portals and print-outs of confirmation emails are used as tickets.^{[citation needed]}

Except in Boston, the lines rarely use stations of their own.^{[citation needed]} 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. Beginning in 1998, when the New York City Department of Transportation marked the strip a bus layover area, the sidewalk between Division Street and East Broadway, has served as a de facto terminal for the Chinatown buses.^[8]

As Chinatown buses gained popularity, some have begun making stops at traditionally non-Asian neighborhoods. Most^[quantify] of NY-DC Chinatown buses make at least one stop in Midtown Manhattan, typically close to Penn Station and Herald Square.^{[citation needed]}

Because of the informal "no-frills" nature of Chinatown bus service, disabled passengers have complained about the lack of handicapped access.^[9]

[edit] Routing

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New York to Boston Chinatown buses generally use the Massachusetts Turnpike from Boston to I-84, and thence follow I-84 to I-91 to I-95. As I-95 approaches New York, several routings are possible depending on the traffic situation.^{[citation needed]} Some drivers use the Throgs Neck Bridge to reach the LIE, thence to the BQE, and then Manhattan Bridge to Canal St. Other drivers use the Whitestone Bridge. Most drivers use the Triborough Bridge when traffic is not congested, and reach the BQE via Astoria Blvd.

Some 'Casino Buses' use I-395 to make an intermediate stop at Foxwoods Resort Casino between Mass Turnpike and I-95.

[edit] Crime

In 2003 and 2004, a number of bus arsons, driver assaults, and murders in New York City were linked to the possible infiltration of Asian organized crime gangs into the industry.^[10][11] In 2008, another article appeared in the New York Post, linking the "Banya Organization" gang with Chinatown buses. The gang allegedly inflicted brutal beatings to muscle in on private bus and van companies. The companies involved were not identified. ^[12]

[edit] Safety

• On March 18, 2005, a Boston-bound Chinatown bus operated by Lucky Star/Travel Pack stopped and evacuated its passengers on the Massachusetts Turnpike shortly before bursting into flames. No one was injured.^[13]
• 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.^[14]
  • 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.^[15]
• On January 20, 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.^[16]
• On August 15, 2006, a Shun Fa bus travelling from New York to Pittsburgh crashed; 10 passengers were injured, with 5 requiring hospitalization. One person was in critical condition.^{[17] [18]}
• On September 6, 2006, a Fung Wah bus rolled over in Auburn, Massachusetts, and caused minor injuries to 34 passengers.^[19] Excessive speed was cited as a factor and the bus company was fined.^[20]
• On January 3, 2007, a Fung Wah bus lost its back two wheels in Framingham, Massachusetts, early on a trip to New York. No injuries were reported.^[21]
• On February 14, 2007, a Fung Wah bus en route to New York lost control and hit a guardrail on the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90) in Allston, Massachusetts. No injuries were reported. State officials had advised Fung Wah to suspend operations because of the winter storms that day.^[22]
• On February 18, 2007, a bus (owned by Tremblay Motorcoach) operated by Sunshine Travel caught fire on the Massachusetts Turnpike near interchange 10A in Millbury, Massachusetts. All 50 passengers were evacuated and no injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is unknown. The bus was returning to the Chinatown in Boston from Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Connecticut.^[23]
• On March 23, 2007, a New York-bound Fung Wah bus from Boston got stuck on a concrete barrier in front of a tollbooth on the Massachusetts Turnpike at Route 128 in Weston, Massachusetts, when the bus drove up on a cement lane divider. The driver had entered an automobile-only lane and tried to change lanes. No one was injured in the incident, but the bus was taken out of service and passengers boarded another Fung Wah bus that arrived later.^[24]

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Gotobus - listing most Chinatown bus services
• BoltBus - competing service of Greyhound Lines also stopping in Chinatown and near Penn Station
• Megabus (United States) - competing service of Coach USA that stops at Penn Station
• Coach USA - operator of the Eastern Shuttle service

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Chinatown bus lines

• Chinatown-bus.org
• NY Chinatown regional bus information
• Brief History of Chinatown Bus, Gotobus, updated in 2008.

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