http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/01/nyreg ... f=nyregion
These may be an unfamiliar phenomenon to those of you outside of the US east coast.
Chinatown Buses
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Re: Chinatown Buses
I'd heard about these - and was well aware of Fung Wah Bus years ago! 2 years ago when we went to New York we considered it, but due to the immense competition on the East Coast, including from some non-Chinatown operators such as BoltBus, Greyhound themselves were offering singles as low as $20 from New York to DC (single) which you can't really complain about!
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Re: Chinatown Buses
Crazy. The need for tighter scruitinty of the coach industry is a bit of a hobby horse of mine, but there is nothing in the UK that resembles this. You just can't beat a tightly organised business network like that - so typical of the way Chinese diaspora firms work. Closing down 26 operators is quite impressive but it sounds like they will probably be back...
Re: Chinatown Buses
As Jamie mentioned though, these guys do get some very real competition from legitimate operators Bolt bus and Mega Bus (bolt being a subsidiary of greyhound that basically took many of the good aspects of the Chinatown bus model).
The decentralized nature of these operators has led to some interesting innovations - early adoption of online ticketing and flexible scheduling (there is no real limit on tickets sold or restrictions on when they can be used, so if 200 people show up when the bus does, they call for additional buses, often from other operators. Many of the more 'nebulous' companies' buses are plain and unmarked so branding becomes an academic distinction. Apart from perhaps Fung Wah, these are simply thought of as Chinatown buses). The Chinatown buses also provided wireless internet long before Amtrak or shuttle flights did, and Bolt Bus made note of this. The model is however noted for horrible customer service. If buses are delayed or full, getting refunds can be a Sisyphean ordeal, and overflow capacity can take hours to arrive, although it usually doesn't. One Friend of mine was given a seat on essentially a 15 passenger van when her bus from Delaware was full - this led to a 5+ hour ride with no stops and no toilet on board.
Increasingly my friends, who do a lot of regular travel between NYC and DC, Boston etc whether for long distance relationships or family, use Bolt or Mega, as the price is almost as good and the service much better. Last year's crash pushed most of them over the edge. I prefer the train, but most people my age see Amtrak as too spendy or fancy (as insane as that would sound elsewhere in the US). No one would consider Greyhound proper for travel on the east coast, as the prices are comparable to the cheaper plane and train fares, and the schedule less convenient.
The decentralized nature of these operators has led to some interesting innovations - early adoption of online ticketing and flexible scheduling (there is no real limit on tickets sold or restrictions on when they can be used, so if 200 people show up when the bus does, they call for additional buses, often from other operators. Many of the more 'nebulous' companies' buses are plain and unmarked so branding becomes an academic distinction. Apart from perhaps Fung Wah, these are simply thought of as Chinatown buses). The Chinatown buses also provided wireless internet long before Amtrak or shuttle flights did, and Bolt Bus made note of this. The model is however noted for horrible customer service. If buses are delayed or full, getting refunds can be a Sisyphean ordeal, and overflow capacity can take hours to arrive, although it usually doesn't. One Friend of mine was given a seat on essentially a 15 passenger van when her bus from Delaware was full - this led to a 5+ hour ride with no stops and no toilet on board.
Increasingly my friends, who do a lot of regular travel between NYC and DC, Boston etc whether for long distance relationships or family, use Bolt or Mega, as the price is almost as good and the service much better. Last year's crash pushed most of them over the edge. I prefer the train, but most people my age see Amtrak as too spendy or fancy (as insane as that would sound elsewhere in the US). No one would consider Greyhound proper for travel on the east coast, as the prices are comparable to the cheaper plane and train fares, and the schedule less convenient.
Re: Chinatown Buses
Interesting that they don't restrict usage (much) - when Megabus started up over here, it pioneered the 'internet only' restricted ticket model now beloved of all transport operators.
End of the day these services will always appeal more to younger passengers, who just want to get somewhere cheaply and are willing to accept worse conditions. I wouldn't take the Megabus anymore, for instance, but I used to be quite happy to do 12 hour London-Dundee stints on it.
End of the day these services will always appeal more to younger passengers, who just want to get somewhere cheaply and are willing to accept worse conditions. I wouldn't take the Megabus anymore, for instance, but I used to be quite happy to do 12 hour London-Dundee stints on it.
Re: Chinatown Buses
The difference between bus and train transport's effect on urban development is something that particularly interests me (I might do a PhD on it one day). With absolutely no investment in terminal facilities, the barriers to exit from the route are basically non-existant. On the other hand, with a big investment in the Port Authority Bus Terminal etc, noone believes that Greyhound or coach services in general will be leaving anytime soon. (Which is why I believe that free market development responds very well to train and metro development but not at all to bus services, which evolve the other way round).
Will BoltBus still be here in 5 years time? Will Fung Wah still be running buses next month? Noone knows. But Amtrak will still be running trains between DC - NYC - Boston till kingdom come.
Will BoltBus still be here in 5 years time? Will Fung Wah still be running buses next month? Noone knows. But Amtrak will still be running trains between DC - NYC - Boston till kingdom come.
Any opinions expressed are purely mine and not that of any employer, past or present.
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oberhümer
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Re: Chinatown Buses
More precisely, not 26 companies as such, but three companies with 26 brands/subsidiaries including one for ticket sale only.Kevo00 wrote:Closing down 26 operators is quite impressive
->http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/ ... story.html
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