A Guide to the Chinatown Bus

The word is out-the cheapest technique to get from one major U.S.  City to another is on the’Chinatown bus’.  Recently this has become transportation option of choice for budget travelers in new york, Washington DC, and Boston, and more recently on the West Coast.  Scholars, backpackers, and an array of other savvy travelers have long adored the rock bottom costs that these bus companies offer.  Despite the popularity of these bus lines it can still be difficult 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 an entrepreneur in NY’s Chinatown started running daily bus service from Chinatown in new york to Chinatown in Boston.  The service was aimed at Asian immigrants who wanted to shop or visit relations in either town and required cheap and convenient transportation.  The service was bare bones-no advertising, buyer service, or bus stations.  Shoppers simply went to the bus stop, waited for the bus ( or van ), and paid the driver upon boarding.  For those ready to do without frills, they offered almost the same service as traditional bus firms at a substantially lower cost.  Before long, the word spread and all sorts of folk began using the service.  It became especially popular with students, budget travelers, or people for whom the service was simply handier. 

shortly more bus companies duplicated this model and began offering service in other towns.  Now you’ll be able to 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 explain this sort of low-cost/low-frills service.  Many if not most, of the companies do not have Chinatown as their main location and may not serve the immigrant population at all .  These operators are also often referred to as’curbside’ operators. 

How can tickets be so cheap?

$15 between Long Island to Boston?  $25 from Vegas to Los Angeles?  It appears hard to fathom.  Chinatown bus corporations may be able to keep costs low because they operate in an essentially different way from normal carriers.  Foremost, the service is extremely basic.  There’s little in the way of customer service or amenities.  Many of these operators don’t have formal stations, picking up passengers at bus stops instead.  They eschew standard advertising in favour of personal recommendation.  Further, plenty of the operators play a very hands-on role in the operation-you will not see idle operatives at a small independent bus company.  Eventually, these operators confirm they fill their buses.  That’s 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 companies first started operating, concerns were raised about safety standards.  There is still controversy within the bus industry about whether these newbies are complying with the same regulations as the traditional corporations. However a task force set up by the federal government to take a look at safety issues discovered that Chinatown bus firms did not perform better or worse than other types of bus companies ( ie.  Charter, tour buses ).  All bus companies operating in the U.S.  Must undergo the same inspection standards and must comply with the same rules.  Realistically there is probably a range of quality among Chinatown bus carriers.  Some are fly-by-night operators attempting to make a fast buck, while others are legitimate entrepreneurs who intend to grow and operate a long term business. 

What you should expect

• No frills service-the driver may be the ticket collector ; there won’t be a large amount of purchaser service.
• Comfortable buses.  Despite the low fares buses are generally quite nice.  Most buses are close to Greyhound and many are basically more deluxe.
• Communication challenges.  Drivers are legally required to speak enough English to help passengers in the case of emergency.  In reality this is frequently 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 is generally a ten or fifteen minute lavatory break on trips over four hours.  Don’t be late returning to the bus, the driver won’t count heads before leaving at the delegated time.
• Full buses.  Buses definitely sell out at peak times ( weekends and evenings ).  Book ahead or get there early if you want secure a seat.
• Plastic Bags.  A strange little quirk on Chinatown buses is that each aisle seat usually 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 type of operator and not an individual bus company.  Many unrelated bus firms fall into this class.  Since most Chinatown buses don’t spend money on advertising it can be tough to discover details about schedules and bus stop locations.  Plenty of the carriers are becoming savvier about the net and a few have websites with info.  Sometimes an internet search will yield links to bus service to your destination.  There also are many directories, for example chinatown-bus.org that include links for most Chinatown bus companies and the writer’s employer, GotoBus.com, is a centralized booking site that has schedules and sells tickets online for most Chinatown bus companies. 

The Chinatown bus isn’t for everybody.  If you need an orderly system with Yank style customer service, you should potentially stick to standard carriers.  However if you know what to expect and come prepared with a sense of journey and humor, you must enjoy the trip just fine .  You may also enjoy the money you save!

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