A Guide to the Chinatown Bus
The word is out-the cheapest way to get from one major U.S. Town 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 loved the rock bottom prices that these bus companies offer. Notwithstanding the admiration for 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 commenced in the late 1990s when a businessman in NY’s Chinatown started running daily bus service from Chinatown in the Big Apple to Chinatown in Boston. The service was directed at Asian immigrants who needed to shop or visit relatives in either city and needed cheap and convenient transportation. The service was bare bones-no advertising, customer service, or bus stations. Shoppers simply went to the bus stop, waited for the bus ( or lorry ), and paid the driver on boarding. For those ready to do without frills, they offered almost the same service as standard bus firms at a substantially lower price . Before long, the word spread and all categories of folk started using the service. It became especially favored by scholars, budget travelers, or people for whom the service was simply more acceptable.
shortly more bus firms copied this model and began offering service in other towns. Now you’ll find this kind of bus service in Philadelphia, Virginia, Baltimore Washington DC, L. A. , 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 the slightest. These operators are also occasionally known as’curbside’ operators.
How can tickets be so cheap?
$15 between Long Island to Boston? $25 from las vegas to Los Angeles? It appears hard to fathom. Chinatown bus companies may be able to keep costs low because they operate in a fundamentally different way from traditional carriers. Foremost, the service is very basic. There is little in the way of client service or facilities. Many of these operators do not have formal stations, picking up passengers at bus stops instead. They eschew standard advertising in favour of personal recommendation. Further, lots of the operators play a particularly hands-on role in the operation-you will not see idle middle management at a little independent bus company. Finally, these operators confirm they fill their buses. That’s why Chinatown bus operators usually only operate on heavily trafficked routes. Indeed some companies only run buses at peak times.
Are they safe?
When these companies initially began operating, concerns were raised about safety standards. There’s still controversy within the bus industry about whether these newbies are complying with the same rules as the traditional firms. However a task force set up by the government to have a look at questions of safety revealed that Chinatown bus firms didn’t perform good or bad than other sorts of bus corporations ( ie. Charter, tour buses ). All bus corporations operating in the U.S. Must go through the same inspection standards and must go along with the same rules. Realistically there is 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 legitimized entrepreneurs who intend to grow and operate a long-term business.
What you must expect
- No frills service-the driver may be the ticket collector ; there won’t be lots of shopper service.
- Comfortable buses. Despite the low fares buses are sometimes quite nice. Most buses are comparable to Greyhound and many are actually 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 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 toilet 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 allocated 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 strange tiny quirk on Chinatown buses is that every aisle seat generally has a plastic grocery bag tied to the arm. I assume they find this is the most effective way to keep the buses clean.
How do I find the Chinatown Bus?
Again,’Chinatown bus’ is a term used to explain a sort of operator and not an individual bus company. Many unrelated bus companies fall into this category. 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 web and a few have websites with information. Usually a Web search will yield links to bus service to your destination. There are also many 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 firms.
The Chinatown bus isn’t for everyone. If you want an orderly system with Yankee style customer service, you should probably stick to traditional carriers. However if you know what to expect and come prepared with a sense of adventure and humor, you should enjoy the trip fine. You may also enjoy the money you save!
Do you enjoy reading this? If yes, you may also visit famouswonders.com to read more about some of the best places to visit in the world and have a look at Baishui Terraces.
