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A Guide to the Chinatown Bus

The word is out-the cheapest method to get from one major U.S.  City to another is on the’Chinatown bus’.  In recent years this has become transportation option of choice for budget travelers in new york, Washington DC, and Boston, and more lately on the West Coast.  Scholars, backpackers, and an array of other savvy travelers have long adored the rock bottom prices that these bus companies offer.  Regardless of the popularity of 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 started in the late 1990s when an entrepreneur in NY’s Chinatown started running daily bus service from Chinatown in NY to Chinatown in Boston.  The service was aimed at Asian immigrants who wanted to shop or visit relatives in either city and required inexpensive and convenient transport.  The service was bare bones-no advertising, buyer 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 willing to do without frills, they offered nearly the same service as traditional bus corporations at a substantially lower price .  Before long, the word spread and all kinds of folks started using the service.  It became especially popular with students, budget travelers, or people for whom the service was simply more acceptable. 

shortly more bus corporations copied this model and started offering service in other towns.  Now you’ll be able to find this type 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 explain this type of low-cost/low-frills service.  Many if not most, of the companies don’t have Chinatown as their main location and may not cater to the immigrant population in the slightest.  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 companies may be 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 customer service or amenities.  The majority of these operators don’t have formal stations, picking up passengers at bus stops instead.  They eschew conventional advertising in favor of recommendation by friends.  Further, lots of the operators play a particularly hands-on role in the operation-you won’t see idle executives at a tiny independent bus company.  Ultimately, these operators ensure they fill their buses.  That is 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 firms 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 rules as the standard companies. However a task force set up by the central government to look at questions of safety revealed that Chinatown bus firms didn’t perform better or worse than other sorts of bus corporations ( ie.  Charter, tour buses ).  All bus companies operating in the U.S.  Must bear the same inspection standards and must obey the same rules.  Realistically there is probably a variety of quality among Chinatown bus carriers.  Some are fly-by-night operators attempting to make a fast buck, while others are legitimized entrepreneurs who plan to grow and operate a long-term business. 

What you need to expect

• No frills service-the driver might be the ticket collector ; there will not be a large amount of customer service.
• Comfortable buses.  Regardless of the low fares buses are sometimes quite nice.  Most buses are analogous to Greyhound and many are actually more deluxe.
• Communication challenges.  Drivers are legally required to communicate enough English to help passengers in the case of emergency.  In reality this is often adhered 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 toilet on board but there is usually a 10 or 15 minute lavatory break on trips over four hours.  Don’t be late returning to the bus, the driver will not count heads before leaving at the allocated time.
• Full buses.  Buses definitely sell out at peak times ( weekends and evenings ).  Book ahead or get there early if you need secure a seat.
• Plastic Bags.  A wierd small idiosyncrasy on Chinatown buses is that each aisle seat usually has a plastic grocery bag tied to the arm.  I guess 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 kind of operator and not an individual bus company.  Many not related bus firms fall into this class.  Since most Chinatown buses do not spend money on advertising it can be hard to find out details about schedules and bus stop locations.  Lots of the carriers are becoming savvier about the Internet and quite a few have websites with information.  Usually a Web search will yield links to bus service to your destination.  There are many directories, such as 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 firms. 

The Chinatown bus is not for everyone.  If you want an orderly system with Yank style customer service, you should likely stick to traditional carriers.  However if you know what to expect and come prepared with a sense of journey and humor, you need to enjoy the trip absolutely fine.  You’ll also enjoy the cash you save!

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