Chinatown Bus Blog!

earlier this year, we took the chinatown bus and it stopped in wheaton, md, for over an hour, then 30 people arrived in cars, all dressed in black, and got on the bus. while we were waiting, i went to my first pupuseria, here

http://static.flickr.com/5/7885848_16a8a8a11b.jpg

Don't take wrong bus
As we are experiencing tremendous growth, our competitors try to get our customers away. They cheated our customers and told them our company doesn't exist(Lier!!!). They ask our customers to pay additional money.

Be careful, our loyal customers. Don't pay money to anybody if you already purchased a ticket. If you get cheated, we could not give out any refund, because it's not our fault.

its true, but they wouldn't let me on because im not jewish.

g-d bless you phil

This time I took the Fung Wah bus to Boston they gave me a quarter that I was supposed to use to call a certain number if there was a problem with the driver. BUT if there wasn't you're supposed to put it in a little box to thank him?

WTF, don't chinese people know how much payphone calls cost now?!

ok. lucky star it is.

kingidentity.com vs blacktown.net FITE!

What bus should I take from NY to DC tomorrow? If there's one that goes to Silver Spring/Bethesda/Chevy Chase area that's even better, but if not I will just hop on the red line.

I guess everything I'm seeing points to Apex. I did find this one $40 round-trip bus that has free wireless internet, but they don't run many buses and their schedule isn't good for me. It's here if anyone's interested:

http://dc2ny.com/

all the chinatown buses are exactly the same, no point in picking one over the other. you could also spend a couple more bucks and take a greyhound or something, which is more likely maybe to stop in maryland, tho maybe not, i've never taken it.

We're taking the Hound to Boston tonight. I was happy to find they dropped the fare a little more ($15 one way now).

Peter Pan bus goes to Silver Spring but going there seems to add a lot of time to the trip (maybe it stops in DC first?), so I just booked Apex. $35 - makes me wonder why I ever bothered to drive there.

local hound from NYC to points north is a hellish tour of casino stop-offs in the woods of connecticut. also, last time i took a greyhound, the bus kept stalling.

and keith

that map is ancient

weird how DC Metro conveniently skips all the poor/dangerous parts of town

same thing in Boston

oops i just ruined your "no Georgetown, lol" zing

weird how DC Metro conveniently skips all the poor/dangerous parts of town

green line yo

oops i just ruined your "no Georgetown, lol" zing

what?

Yeah, what? The metro goes to plenty of poor/dangerous parts of town. It doesn't go to Georgetown because the rich people there don't want it to bring people from the poor areas.

Yeah, and that map is really old and a lot of the slashes are filled in now:

http://www.dcdaysinn.com/images/map_DC_metro_lg.gif

Whoops, actually even that one is a few years old.

Current:

http://www.wmata.com/metrorail/images/04.gif

HAHA

Anyway, it's here:

http://www.wmata.com/metrorail/systemmap.cfm

latebloomer to thread

you're the one whose "lucky number" is up!

it's on

does this horrific bronx disaster give anyone second thoughts about taking chinatown buses?

(http://gothamist.com/2011/03/13/fatal_bronx_bus_crash_claims_14th_l.php)

cheap rides vs. NOT BEING DECAPITATED

this + japan earthquake totally fucked up my weekend. but I'd probably still take them. actually, greyhound (as bolt bus) and megabus or w/e run competing services, and they seem to be better than the chinatown versions in almost every aspect...free wifi, leather seats

I suppose it's an improvement. remember reading stories about how five or six years ago rival bus companies would hijack each others buses and leave passengers stranded in the middle of nowhwere

tbh I would take that over decapitation

what's with buses, chinese people, and decapitation

w/r/t bolt
http://gothamist.com/2011/03/12/boltbus_driver_arrested_for_drunk_d.php

O_o

why won't obama build high speed rail between philly and new york already

acela is already relatively (america-relatively) fast, but that and even real hsr won't satisfy the demand for cheap fares

I mean buses are great I think, but you gotta find a way to scare/regulate these companies into hiring only extremely competent drivers. the bronx crash shouldn't have happened cause that dude shouldn't have been driving.

heh honestly I don't know how these companies turn a profit, I imagine drivers are one area where they cut corners. I bet that these drivers are worked pretty hard too.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/nyregion/15bus.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp&adxnnlx=1300190540-xulNqW5TFmEQinTJd1w4OA

I don't think extremely strict licensing requirements would really be such a burden on these companies.

I use to take these all the time between Boston and NY before I had a car. They're so shady. A couple years ago they kept catching on fire and now this? I mean, if I didn't have a car I'd probably still take them but man. :(

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/03/14/2011-03-14_at_least_one_passenger_dead_as_bus_crashes_on_the_new_jersey_turnpike.html

damn yo!
i've taken these things a bunch, maybe not so much anymore

The lure of Chinatown buses, however bad the service & safety standards, isn't only that they're cheaper than any of the alternatives, but how much cheaper, and they are A WHOLE LOT cheaper. I just priced Amtrack from NY to DC, overnight stay, round trip, and the prices range from $76 for the least convenient time on the slowest trains, up to over $230 at peak times on the Acela. And you're limited to taking the exact train that you paid for -- if you show up at the station earlier or later, you're fucked.

The bus is, what, like $25 all day, every day, and you can get on whatever one comes after you show up??

yep - the difference is remarkable

yeah, even if you own a car, it's cheaper to go by bus after you factor in tolls and gas and all that

I think you can find less than 25 even. maybe one of these companies could sell itself as 'the safe one' and charge a tiny bit more. dunno if the market is there atm but it might be soon?

I was gonna say, there's lots of room for someone to offer a mid-range option, but it couldn't be THAT much more than the cheaper buses because that's obviously what people are willing to pay. I don't know who takes Amtrack between major Eastern cities BESIDES business-people and European tourists -- I would guess the overwhelming part of their customer base is corporate travel.

it's also important to note that a safer company would also mean longer trips and more delays, overall. it's a question of priorities and it's entirely possible that the market doesn't sufficiently value safety over price and speed yet.

I have taken these maybe 15-20x round trip (so like 30-40x), this really weirds me out. Laurel TOTALLY OTM. There are pretty much three ways to get btwn PHL/NYC: Amtrak/Acela ($$$$$$), SEPTA > Trenton and then NJT from Trenton > NYC ($$$$, also inconvenient w/ layover), Chinatown bus ($). I'd been a bit nervous about safety before, but for some stupid reason I figured if it was a fairly dependable business, it must be relatively safe/ok.

I prob told you this in person, stevie, but to repeat: I used to really like the NJT to SEPTA way; I think trains are like 4x more comfortable than buses and the price of local rail is only a bit more than the Chinatown buses. Plus you don't have to fear the bathrooms, at least in my experience. Also, less beheading.

But anyway, yeah. Buses. Cheap.

Yeah true, but the fares have gone up and up and up and it's now about $50; you get there safer and more comfortably, but also slower and at 2.5x the price. I mean you could shave off another $10 if you're willing to take the PATCO to Camden, and then the RiverLine to Trenton, and THEN the NJTransit to NYC, but srsly who wants to do this? Also, BoltBus and Megabus would be hella more convenient if their Philly destination wasn't over at fucking 30th St. Station

Actually one of those two stops at 5th and Arch or something, but again you have to, like, schedule an exact fucking time over a day in advance

Oh no, you're right. The last time I took that train w the Trenton connection, it was like $24 round trip!

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/05/31/4-passengers-killed-after-bus-headed-for-chinatown-crashes-in-virginia/

think I'm gonna stick w/ mega and bolt...

AGAIN?! ugh

Trying to plan for Calif suggests to me that they need a dangerous, fast SF>LA bus

They've got one already.

don't take greyhound, that is the worst trip ever

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/14/us/14bus.html?_r=1

NOBODY IS SAFE

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/08/nyregion/collateral-damage-in-the-chinatown-bus-wars.html

"We're talking about a major public safety concern," said Berwick. "We're not talking about trivial matters here; we're talking about serious structural deficiencies in these buses that could cause a serious accident."

So far Fung Wah has agreed to take 21 of their 28 buses off the road.

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2013/02/25/i-team-fung-wah-buses-failing-safety-inspections

SHUT

http://bostonherald.com/business/business_markets/2013/03/feds_close_fung_wahs_doors

yobus is pretty good

I'm on a YO! bus from Philly > NYC, which i didnt know is operated by Greyhound. This round trip: $21.

I did $17 once