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 years this has become transportation option of choice for budget travelers in the Big Apple, Washington DC, and Boston, and more lately on the West Coast. Students, backpackers, and an array of other savvy travelers have long loved the rock bottom prices that these bus companies offer. Despite the idolization 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 will have the near track on this great budget travel option.
Chinatown Bus history
The Chinatown bus phenomenon began in the late 1990s when an entrepreneur in new york’s Chinatown started running daily bus service from Chinatown in new york to Chinatown in Boston. The service was targeted at Asian immigrants who wished to shop or visit relatives in either city and needed cheap and convenient transport. The service was bare bones-no advertising, shopper service, or bus stations. Shoppers simply went to the bus stop, waited for the bus ( or van ), and paid the driver on boarding. For those willing to do without frills, they offered virtually the same service as traditional bus firms at a significantly lower cost. Before long, the word spread and all kinds of folk began using the service. It became especially favored by scholars, budget travelers, or people for whom the service was simply more acceptable.
shortly more bus corporations duplicated this model and started offering service in other towns. Now you can find this kind of bus service in Philadelphia, Virginia, Baltimore Washington DC, los angeles, las 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 serve the immigrant population in any way. 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 appears hard to fathom. Chinatown bus corporations are able to keep costs low because they operate in an essentially different way from normal carriers. Foremost, the service is terribly basic. There is little in the way of customer 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 personal recommendation. Further, plenty of the operators play a very hands-on role in the operation-you won’t see idle executives at a tiny independent bus company. Eventually, these operators make sure they fill their buses. That’s why Chinatown bus operators usually only operate on heavily trafficked routes. Indeed some companies only run buses at top times.
Are they safe?
When these corporations 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 regulations as the standard corporations. However a task force set up by the central government to look at issues of safety discovered that Chinatown bus corporations didn’t perform better or worse than other sorts of bus firms ( ie. Charter, tour buses ). All bus corporations operating in the U.S. Must undergo the same inspection standards and must comply with the same rules. Realistically there’s probably a range of quality among Chinatown bus carriers. Some are fly-by-night operators trying to make a fast buck, while others are bonafide entrepreneurs who intend to grow and operate a long term business.
What you must expect
- No frills service-the driver might be the ticket collector ; there won’t be a large amount of customer service.
- Comfortable buses. Despite the low fares buses are sometimes quite nice. Most buses are close to Greyhound and many are actually more luxury.
- Communication challenges. Drivers are legally required to speak enough English to help passengers in the case of emergency. In truth this is frequently adhered 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 lavatory on board but there is usually a ten or 15 minute bathroom 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 top times ( weekends and evenings ). Book ahead or get there early if you want secure a seat.
- Plastic Bags. A strange small idiosyncrasy on Chinatown buses is that each aisle seat generally has a plastic grocery bag tied to the arm. I guess 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 describe a type of operator and not an individual bus company. Many unrelated bus firms fall into this class. Since most Chinatown buses do not spend money on advertising it can be tough 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 an internet search will yield links to bus service to your destination. There also are many directories,eg chinatown-bus.org that include links for most Chinatown bus companies and the author’s employer, GotoBus.com, is a centralized booking site that has schedules and sells tickets online for most Chinatown bus companies.
The Chinatown bus is not for everybody. If you need an orderly system with Yank style customer service, you should likely stick to conventional carriers. However if you know what to expect and come prepared with a feeling of adventure and humor, you must enjoy the trip absolutely fine. You’ll also enjoy the cash you save!
If you enjoy traveling and would like to read more on some of the most famous places in the world, visit famouswonders.com and also check out Kaifeng City China.
