A Guide to the Chinatown Bus
The word is out-the cheapest 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 recently on the West Coast. Scholars, backpackers, and an array of other savvy travelers have long liked the rock bottom costs that these bus companies offer. Notwithstanding the idolization of these bus lines it can still be tricky 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 latter 1990s when a businessman in the Big Apple’s Chinatown started running daily bus service from Chinatown in NY to Chinatown in Boston. The service was aimed at Asian immigrants who needed to shop or visit relations in either town and needed inexpensive and convenient transportation. The service was bare bones-no advertising, buyer service, or bus stations. Customers simply went to the bus stop, waited for the bus ( or wagon ), and paid the driver on boarding. For those prepared to do without frills, they offered almost the same service as standard bus firms at a substantially lower cost. 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 handier.
soon more bus corporations replicated this model and began 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 do not have Chinatown as their main location and may not serve the immigrant population in the slightest. These operators are also occasionally called’curbside’ operators.
How can tickets be so cheap?
$15 between Big Apple to Boston? $25 from Vegas to Los Angeles? It appears tough to fathom. Chinatown bus corporations are able to keep prices low because they operate in a fundamentally different way from normal carriers. Foremost, the service is extremely basic. There’s little in the way of client service or facilities. Most of these operators don’t have formal stations, picking up passengers at bus stops instead. They eschew traditional advertising in favour of personal recommendation. Further, lots of the operators play a very hands-on role in the operation-you won’t see idle operatives at a tiny independent bus company. Ultimately, 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’s still controversy within the bus industry about whether these newbies are complying with the same laws as the standard corporations. However a task force set up by the government to have a look at issues of safety revealed that Chinatown bus firms did not perform good or bad than other kinds of bus companies ( ie. Charter, tour buses ). All bus corporations operating in the U.S. Must bear the same inspection standards and must comply with the same rules. Realistically there is probably a variety of quality among Chinatown bus carriers. Some are fly-by-night operators trying to make a fast buck, while others are bonafide entrepreneurs who plan to grow and operate a long term business.
What you should expect
- No frills service-the driver could be the ticket collector ; there won’t be a lot of customer service.
- Comfortable buses. Despite the low fares buses are sometimes quite nice. Most buses are close to Greyhound and many are really more deluxe.
- Communication challenges. Drivers are legally required to speak enough English to help passengers in the case of emergency. In reality this is often sticked to rather loosely. At the very least, expect your driver to have an accent.
- Possible delays. Many of those 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 generally a 10 or fifteen 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’d like secure a seat.
- Plastic Bags. A wierd small quirk 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 best 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 not related bus companies fall into this category. Since most Chinatown buses do not spend money on advertising it can be hard to discover details about schedules and bus stop locations. Lots of the carriers are becoming savvier about the Internet and a few have websites with information. Usually a Net search will yield links to bus service to your destination. There are several directories,eg chinatown-bus.org that include links for most Chinatown bus corporations and the writer’s employer, GotoBus.com, is a centralized booking site that has schedules and sells tickets online for most Chinatown bus firms.
The Chinatown bus is not for everyone. If you want 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 journey and humor, you should enjoy the trip fine. You may also enjoy the money 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 Labrang Monastery.
