Chinatown bus lines

Chinatown bus lines are discount intercity bus services in the United States, often operated by Chinese Americans, primarily Fujianese. They operate with lower overhead and lower fares compared to competing services. Destinations include most major cities as well as casinos popular with Asian Americans.
As a result of safety issues and several fatal crashes, most Chinatown bus lines were shut down by regulatory authorities in 2012. Others continue to operate with increased oversight.
Chinese-operated intercity bus service began when the Chinese working class and new immigrants, particularly Chinese restaurant workers who found jobs in other cities, needed to travel to and from New York City, Boston, and Atlantic City. The first companies to offer Chinese intercity bus service had minimal features, including unmarked curbside bus stops and no advertising or customer service; this greatly reduced overhead costs. In 1998, two companies began operations: Fung Wah Bus Transportation, between New York and Boston, and Eastern Bus, between New York and Philadelphia. At first, very few non-Chinese made use of the services. As word spread, they became popular with non-Chinese travelers due to lower fares and the demographics of these bus lines became similar to those of other intercity bus lines.
Competition and price wars between newly successful companies, combined with online ticket sales, led to a reduction in fares. Service to smaller cities by Chinatown bus lines had less of a price advantage. The fierce competition led to gang violence in which rival bus operators killed or injured each other. Because of their low fares, Chinatown bus lines had very low profit margins; some went bankrupt and ceased operations. However, the services became more popular and the number of trips by Chinatown bus lines increased.
In 2004, a fully-booked bus net at least $340 profit per round trip after expenses. In 2004, Vamoose Bus was launched by Hasidic Jews to compete with Chinatown bus lines.
By 2005, Chinatown buses appropriated much of the market share of Greyhound Lines in the Northeastern United States.
By 2006, many Chinatown bus lines operated service to/from casinos popular with Chinese and Vietnamese immigrants. All riders receive free-play vouchers, and some low-income or homeless people sell them before returning to New York.
In 2008, BoltBus was established by Greyhound to compete with the less-expensive Chinatown bus lines, but ceased operations in July 2021.
By 2010, service expanded to many major cities across the U.S.
By 2012, riders of Chinatown buses made up over half the ridership of northeastern intercity buses, bringing annual intercity ridership to over 7 million passengers.
Double Happyness Travel, Inc. was shut down in December 2011 after it was called "an imminent hazard" by transportation officials.
On May 31, 2012, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced the shutdown of Apex Bus, I-95 Coach, New Century Travel, and 23 related entities due to safety violations.
On March 2, 2013, the United States Department of Transportation shut down Fung Wah Bus Transportation because of its refusal to provide safety records. The company was later authorized to resume its bus operations but shut down anyways in 2015.
On May 25, 2013, a bus operated by Lucky Star was taken out of service when a manhole cover became lodged in its undercarriage. The company was shut down on June 5 due to "flagrant disregard for motor coach passenger safety". Lucky Star conducted an extensive bus upgrade and driver program, passed required inspections, and resumed operations in November 2013.
The shutdowns led to an increase in bus fares and some say the shutdowns were unnecessary. Jim Epstein, a writer for libertarian publication Reason, called the FMCSA practices overly harsh, writing that the agency targets Chinatown bus companies because owners are rarely fluent in English and alleging that inspectors were overly strict about defective components, confiscating several buses for minor issues.
Despite these shutdowns, in 2015, Chinatown bus lines operated 5.3 million passenger trips and 48.5 million annual miles of service, up 14% from 2013 and up 26% since 2008.
In May 2019, Eastern Bus, a Chinatown bus line, reached a deal with Flixbus, in which Flixbus handles all marketing and sales for the company.
In 2003 and 2004, bus burnings, driver assaults, murders, and other gang violence in New York City were linked to the possible infiltration of Asian organized crime gangs in the industry.
Among the crimes associated with gang activity was a deadly shooting in May 2003 on a busy street, which may have been in retaliation for a driver backing his bus into a rival; in revenge, two buses were set on fire the following year. Fatal stabbings occurred in October 2003 and in 2004. The boyfriend of a bus-company employee was fatally shot in an apparent bus feud in January 2004, and a Chinatown bus operator was shot to death two months later. In a June 2004 incident tied to criminal gangs, two people—a Chinatown bus driver and a bystander—were murdered in a bar in Flushing, Queens; another was shot in the leg. The accused shooter was arrested in Toronto in 2011, and was extradited to the United States. After the 2004 shootings, the New York City Police Department increased its enforcement of Chinatown-bus laws. Bus-feud crime subsided by 2007.
In 2008, the Banya Organization, a Chinese gang, was accused of assaulting employees of Chinatown bus lines in an attempt to extort partial ownership and a share of the profits.
In 2013, police confiscated 254 guns and arrested 19 members of the largest gun-smuggling ring in New York City history; the suspects were accused of shipping guns via Chinatown bus lines. In 2020, Chinatown bus lines were again accused of being a conduit for gun trafficking.
Chinatown buses have been involved in several incidents, and there were 34 intercity bus crashes across the United States from 2001 to 2011. On a 2006 safety scale of 0 to 100, where 0 was the safest and 100 the most dangerous, Chinatown bus lines were rated between 71 and 99; Greyhound was rated 0. "Calculations of safety and risk are inverted," according to a 2013 City University of New York study. A report in 2011 found that curbside Chinatown buses were often more dangerous than buses that stop in terminals. As of 2011, many travelers were not discouraged. Intercity bus crashes are rare.
In February 2004, after several murders connected with employees of rival Chinatown bus companies, officials conducted a surprise inspection and seized buses.
In 2012, General Bus, a Chinatown bus line, was noted to have a safety record worse than 99.5% of other intercity bus lines.
In 2017, federal data showed that three Chinatown bus lines were among the worst safety violators among U.S. intercity bus lines.
Buses often do not follow their scheduled timetables; many are unreliable, sometimes skipping scheduled stops.
Buses are also criticized for being uncomfortable. Buses are generally older and unmarked. The buses are also known to break down.
The curbside bus stops used by Chinatown bus lines led to many complaints from nearby residents and business owners due to noise, pollution, trash, blocked traffic, and sidewalk overcrowding. The complaints led to increased regulations in several cities, including permit requirements, bus stop requirements, fines and fees, as well as the construction of the Independence Transportation Center in Philadelphia. These regulations were also allegedly influenced by Peter Pan Bus Lines and Greyhound Lines, which face competition from Chinatown bus lines.