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Are Chinatown buses safe?

By RomanticHeart | February 11, 2010

A Guide to the Chinatown Bus

The word is out-the most cost-effective way to get from one major U.S. City to another is on the’Chinatown bus’. In recent times this has become transportation option of choice for budget travelers in new york, Washington DC, and Boston, and more recently on the West Coast. Scholars, backpackers, and an array of other savvy travelers have long loved the rock bottom costs that these bus companies offer. Notwithstanding the admiration for these bus lines it can still be tough to find information on Chinatown bus service.
What exactly is a’Chinatown Bus’? Read on and you will have the inside track on this great budget travel option.

Chinatown Bus history

The Chinatown bus phenomenon commenced in the late 1990s when an entrepreneur in the Big Apple’s Chinatown started running daily bus service from Chinatown in NY to Chinatown in Boston. The service was directed at Asian immigrants who wished to shop or visit relations in either city and needed inexpensive and convenient transport. The service was bare bones-no advertising, customer service, or bus stations. Customers simply went to the bus stop, waited for the bus ( or wagon ), and paid the driver on boarding. For those prepared to do without frills, they offered virtually the same service as normal bus corporations at a significantly lower cost. Before long, the word spread and all sorts of folk started to use the service. It became especially favored by students, budget travelers, or people for whom the service was simply more convenient.

soon more bus companies duplicated this model and started offering service in other cities. Now you’ll find this kind of bus service in Philadelphia, Virginia, Baltimore Washington DC, LA, las vegas and San Francisco. At this point the term’Chinatown bus’ is used more loosely to explain this kind of low-cost/low-frills service. Many if not most, of the companies do not have Chinatown as their main location and may not serve the immigrant population in any way. These operators are also sometimes referred to as’curbside’ operators.

How can tickets be so cheap?

$15 between Long Island to Boston? $25 from las vegas to Los Angeles? It seems hard to fathom. Chinatown bus firms may be able to keep costs low because they operate in a fundamentally different way from normal carriers. Foremost, the service is extremely basic. There is little in the way of purchaser service or amenities. Most of these operators don’t have formal stations, picking up passengers at bus stops instead. They eschew conventional advertising in favor of recommendation by friends. Further, plenty of the operators play a particularly hands-on role in the operation-you will not see idle middle management at a small independent bus company. Finally, these operators ensure they fill their buses. That’s why Chinatown bus operators often only operate on heavily trafficked routes. Indeed some companies only run buses at top times.

Are they safe?

When these firms initially began operating, concerns were raised about safety standards. There is still controversy in the bus industry about whether these newcomers are complying with the same regulations as the conventional companies. However a task force set up by the government to take a look at questions of safety discovered that Chinatown bus companies didn’t perform better or worse than other kinds of bus firms ( ie. Charter, tour buses ). All bus corporations operating in the U.S. Must bear the same inspection standards and must go along with the same rules. Realistically there is probably a variety of quality among Chinatown bus carriers. Some are fly-by-night operators trying to make a fast buck, while others are legitimate entrepreneurs who intend to grow and operate a long-term business.

What you should expect

No frills service-the driver might be the ticket collector ; there won’t be a lot of customer service.
Comfortable buses. Despite the low fares buses are generally quite nice. Most buses are comparable to Greyhound and many are actually more luxury.
Communication challenges. Drivers are legally required to speak enough English to help passengers in the case of emergency. In truth this is frequently sticked to rather loosely. At the very least, expect your driver to have an accent.
Possible delays. Many of these bus routes are on highly congested roads. When the roads are busy, expect delays.
Rest stops. Buses will have a can on board but there is generally a 10 or 15 minute rest room break on trips over four hours. Don’t be late returning to the bus, the driver will not count heads before leaving at the appointed time.
Full buses. Buses definitely sell out at peak times ( weekends and evenings ). Book ahead or get there early if you want secure a seat.
Plastic Bags. A strange little idiosyncrasy on Chinatown buses is that each aisle seat generally has a plastic grocery bag tied to the arm. I guess they find this is the most effective way to keep the buses clean.

How do I find the Chinatown Bus?

Again,’Chinatown bus’ is a term used to explain a kind of operator and not an individual bus company. Many not related bus companies fall into this category. Since most Chinatown buses don’t spend money on advertising it can be difficult to find out details about schedules and bus stop locations. Plenty of the carriers are becoming savvier about the net and a few have websites with info. Usually a Web search will yield links to bus service to your destination. There are also many directories,eg chinatown-bus.org that include links for most Chinatown bus firms and the author’s employer, GotoBus.com, is a centralized booking site that has schedules and sells tickets online for most Chinatown bus corporations.

The Chinatown bus isn’t for everybody. If you want an orderly system with American style customer service, you should potentially stick to conventional carriers. However if you know what to expect and come prepared with a feeling of journey and humor, you should enjoy the trip fine. You will also enjoy the cash you save!

If you enjoy traveling and would like to read more on some of the most famous places in the world, visit famouswonders.com and also check out Baishui Terraces China.