Using "Chinatown" buses to get to New York/Boston

Parent Cafe
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<p>On past threads some parents here have said their kids benefit from cheap prices for '“Chinatown” buses to and from major cities–especially New York and Boston–you might want to consider this comment on a recent accident from the Washington Post:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/15/AR2006091500557.html[/url]”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/15/AR2006091500557.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>(1) I think there was another accident this weekend.</p>

<p>(2) This is hardly news.</p>

<p>(3) When you run a lot of busses, don’t charge a lot of money, and don’t undergo safety inspections, etc., you are going to have some mishaps. That’s the deal – illegal, third-world bus service at third-world prices (relatively).</p>

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<p>DON’T USE THOSE BUSSES!!! Are you talking about the Fung Wah busses? Look at their safety record–it’s horrendous. Many accidents recently…spent a little xtra and get there safely by people who know how to drive!!</p>

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<p>I’m with JHS, especially on point #3.</p>

<p>I’ve taken the buses several times between Boston and New York, and have never had a problem. But probabilistically, when you run buses to and fro every hour on the hour… you’re going to have some breakdowns. But that’s the contract you’re making when you take a $15 bus ride.</p>

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<p>You get what you pay for. I would never take the risk. The Fung Wah is in the news every other week for some malfunction or accident.</p>

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<p>my friends and i have used them often without any problems</p>

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<p>In all fairness, Pye, the article you linked to is dated September 17, 2006 – and it reports an accident on Sept. 5th – more than 8 months ago. I think it would have been much more appropriate for you to have written that the accident was “last year” than “recent” – because basically you omit any reference to what, if any, action has been taken since to rectify the situation. </p>

<p>More recent articles are here:
<a href=“http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/01/04/wheel_scare_halts_fung_wah_bus_trip/?page=2[/url]”>http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/01/04/wheel_scare_halts_fung_wah_bus_trip/?page=2&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=517148[/url]”>http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=517148&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>My daughter does take the Fung Wah regularly between New York & Boston… but hey, we’re from San Francisco, where she rides the Muni. From what I can find, in terms of safety, Fung Wah looks pretty good by comparison – at least their drivers seem to be able to avoid running down pedestrians. See: <a href=“http://www.sfist.com/2007/04/03/woman_killed_after_being_hit_by_muni_bus.php[/url]”>http://www.sfist.com/2007/04/03/woman_killed_after_being_hit_by_muni_bus.php&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/09/09/MN38356.DTL[/url]”>http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/09/09/MN38356.DTL&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>or, my favorite, though somewhat older:

From “Recommended Muni Service Standards” <a href=“http://www.rescuemuni.org/svcstds.html[/url]”>http://www.rescuemuni.org/svcstds.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Re JHS – I did check, there was a serious accident involving a Fung Wah owned bus this weekend, but it was not a bus on their regular line. Rather, it was a vehicle they owned & leased to a contractor; the accident was in Pennsylvania:
<a href=“http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=69910[/url]”>http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=69910&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>I know many who have used the bus w/o incident, but the bus I rode had no bathroom (which I heard was not uncommon). </p>

<p>Also, as a result of the Fung Wah, Trailways and the other bus companies have cut the cost their Boston-NY tickets.</p>

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<p>My niece was in a bad bus accideny near Harrisburg a few weeks ago (coming home from Penn State) and it was a reputable carrier. She was not injured, but the driver of the car that the bus hit was severely injured (had to be cut out of the car) and a number of the bus passengers were hurt. So-it can happen on any carrier.</p>

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<p>I don’t want to be seen as “defending” the bus, but as a parent I actually worry a lot more when my daughter is driving or is a passenger with another student going somewhere. For example, I know she went at least once from NY to Amherst with a group of friends driving in one of the kid’s cars – I know the kid who was driving and he is a nice kid, but I have no clue how well he drives— and I have enough experience with driving in NY & Massachusetts to know that it’s a challenge even for experienced drivers. My daughter has a close friend who was killed earlier this year along with several others when the teenage driver lost control of a Toyota on the road. At least the bus, no matter how poorly driven or maintained, has the advantage of size on the road (that is, its better to be inside a bus than to be in whatever vehicle the bus hits, as MOWC’s post illustrates). </p>

<p>I also worry a lot more about my d. getting back to her dorm on the subway after getting off the bus, especially since she often arrives late at night.</p>

<p>I wish the train were cheaper – I am much more comfortable with Amtrak, but the cost is really prohibitive for a college student frequently making the trip. And as long as the boyfriend is in Boston, I know that my d. will keep on making the trip.</p>

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<p>DS has used the Chinatown buses. But he tells me that Greyhound actually lowered their rates to match the China town bus so he no longer uses it.</p>

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<p>I have made one R/T on Fung Wah for a day trip to NYC. Other times when I go to NYC, I use LimoLiner (<a href=“http://www.limoliner.com)%5B/url%5D”>www.limoliner.com)</a>. It’s more expensive, but it’s non-stop (except for one stop in Framingham), and you get a meal plus a snack, have Wi-Fi access, and watch movies. And you can pre-select your own seat and arrive just five minutes before it’s scheduled to leave.</p>

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<p>My D took the bus several times when she was in school in NY. She said it was quite an adventure, but she meant an adventure in finding the curb site where it stopped and communicating with the Chinese grandmothers at the bus stop!</p>

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<p>I’m sure that LimoLiner is great, but the reason the kids take the Fung Wah is that it costs $15. Limoliner is $79 – for a round trip that’s an extra $128. </p>

<p>Thumper – thanks for the info about Greyhound – I will definitely let my daughter know to check into that.</p>

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<p>calmom,</p>

<p>Sorry about the misleading “recent”–there was an accident between New York and Chicago this past weekend–the WP article was linked from that report and I posted it because it was more informative about the service than the accident report article. </p>

<p>I have read enough such reports that I would not want my D to use those buses–but just thought other parents should be aware of the risks…</p>

<p>Pyewacket</p>

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<p>My kids have both taken the Fung Wah, but more rcently have been using Greyhound since its rates have been lowered (thank you, Fung Wah, for tht.)</p>

<p>My D’s bus mishaps have all been on Peter Pan, which goes up to the middle of CT where she used to go to school and still knows people. Constant breakdowns and slow-ups. It got to be funny, because the buses are all named for characters, so she’d say–Oh no, I’m on Michael and John, that overheated last time, or Princess Tiger Lily had a flat, etc. etc.</p>

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<p>Folks, I recall reading before the end of 2006 that the muncipal government of NYC “pressed” Fung Wah to agree to inspections [and upgrades, if memory serves] of its fleet. I believe that the service has been under much scrutiny of late and thus, is operating well.</p>

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<p>Here is a report on most recent accident:
<a href=“http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=69910[/url]”>http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=69910&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>i just want to point out – fung wah is the one that a lot of people hear about (often not for good reasons), but there are other companies running “chinatown buses” - and they run between other cities besides nyc and boston - i think there is another one running between boston and nyc called lucky star. i don’t know how their track record is compared to fung wah – just wanted to note that there are different companies. (in fact i recall reading once that competition among the companies can be fierce - though i don’t recall where i read that or any details or the companies involved)</p>

<p>the one in the accident in the article cited by pye is described as owned OK Travel.<br>
at least according to this cite – <a href=“http://www.nychinatown.org/directory/m_bus.html[/url]”>http://www.nychinatown.org/directory/m_bus.html&lt;/a&gt; – that doesn’t seem to be one of the boston/ny chinatown companies and seems to be separate from fung wah.</p>