Are Chinatown buses safe?
A Guide to the Chinatown Bus
The word is out-the least expensive method to get from one major U.S. Town to another is on the’Chinatown bus’. In recent times this has become transportation option of choice for budget travelers in NY, Washington DC, and Boston, and more lately on the West Coast. Scholars, backpackers, and an array of other savvy travelers have long adored the rock bottom prices that these bus companies offer. Despite the popularity of 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’ll have the near track on this great budget travel option.
Chinatown Bus history
The Chinatown bus phenomenon started in the late 1990s when a businessman in new york’s Chinatown started running daily bus service from Chinatown in NY to Chinatown in Boston. The service was directed at Asian immigrants who wanted to shop or visit relations in either city and required inexpensive and convenient transportation. The service was bare bones-no advertising, shopper service, or bus stations. Purchasers simply went to the bus stop, waited for the bus ( or wagon ), and paid the driver upon boarding. For those prepared to do without frills, they offered virtually the same service as normal bus corporations at a substantially lower price . Before long, the word spread and all categories of folks began using the service. It became especially favored by scholars, budget travelers, or people for whom the service was simply more convenient.
shortly more bus firms duplicated this model and began offering service in other towns. Now you can find this kind of bus service in Philadelphia, Virginia, Baltimore Washington DC, LA, Vegas and San Francisco. At this point the term’Chinatown bus’ is used more loosely to describe this sort of low-cost/low-frills service. Many if not most, of the companies don’t have Chinatown as their main location and may not minister to the immigrant population at all . These operators are also sometimes called’curbside’ operators.
How can tickets be so cheap?
$15 between New York to Boston? $25 from Vegas to Los Angeles? It seems tough to fathom. Chinatown bus companies can keep costs low because they operate in an essentially different way from normal carriers. Foremost, the service is extremely basic. There is little in the way of client service or comforts. Many of these operators do not have formal stations, picking up passengers at bus stops instead. They eschew conventional advertising in favor of recommendation by friends. Further, many of the operators play a very hands-on role in the operation-you won’t see idle executives at a small independent bus company. Eventually, these operators make sure they fill their buses. That is 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 first started operating, concerns were raised about safety standards. There is still controversy within the bus industry about whether these newcomers are complying with the same laws as the conventional firms. However a task force set up by the government to take a look at issues of safety revealed that Chinatown bus corporations did not perform better or worse than other sorts of bus firms ( ie. Charter, tour buses ). All bus companies operating in the U.S. Must undergo the same inspection standards and must obey the same rules. Realistically there’s probably a range of quality among Chinatown bus carriers. Some are fly-by-night operators making an attempt to make a fast buck, while others are legitimate entrepreneurs who plan to grow and operate a long-term business.
What you should expect
- No frills service-the driver might be the ticket collector ; there will not be a large amount of shopper service.
- Comfortable buses. Regardless of the low fares buses are usually quite nice. Most buses are comparable to Greyhound and many are actually more deluxe.
- Communication challenges. Drivers are legally required to communicate enough English to help passengers in the case of emergency. In reality this is regularly 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 toilet on board but there’s usually a ten or fifteen minute lavatory break on trips over 4 hours. Don’t be late returning to the bus, the driver won’t count heads before leaving at the appointed time.
- Full buses. Buses definitely sell out at top times ( weekends and evenings ). Book ahead or get there early if you’d like secure a seat.
- Plastic Bags. A wierd tiny idiosyncrasy on Chinatown buses is that each aisle seat typically has a plastic grocery bag tied to the arm. I assume they find this is the only 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 unrelated bus firms fall into this category. Since most Chinatown buses do not spend money on advertising it can be hard to find out details about schedules and bus stop locations. Many of the carriers are becoming savvier about the Internet and quite a few have websites with information. Usually a Web search will yield links to bus service to your destination. There are also several directories, for example chinatown-bus.org that include links for most Chinatown bus firms and the writer’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 everyone. If you want an orderly system with Yank style customer service, you should likely stick to traditional carriers. However if you know what to expect and come prepared with a sense of adventure and humor, you must enjoy the trip fine. You will also enjoy the money you save!
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