A Budget Traveler’s Dream

A Guide to the Chinatown Bus

The word is out-the most cost-effective 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 latterly 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.  Despite the popularity 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 inside track on this great budget travel option. 

Chinatown Bus history

The Chinatown bus phenomenon started in the latter 1990s when a businessman in NY’s Chinatown started running daily bus service from Chinatown in new york to Chinatown in Boston.  The service was directed at Asian immigrants who wished to shop or visit relations in either city 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 ready to do without frills, they offered virtually the same service as standard bus companies at a substantially lower cost.  Before long, the word spread and all sorts of folk began using the service.  It became especially well liked by students, budget travelers, or people for whom the service was simply more acceptable. 

shortly more bus companies 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, 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 minister to the immigrant population in the slightest.  These operators are also often called’curbside’ operators. 

How can tickets be so cheap?

$15 between Long Island to Boston?  $25 from las vegas to Los Angeles?  It seems tough to fathom.  Chinatown bus corporations are able to keep prices low because they operate in a fundamentally different way from standard carriers.  Foremost, the service is terribly basic.  There is little in the way of purchaser service or amenities.  Many of these operators don’t have formal stations, picking up passengers at bus stops instead.  They eschew standard advertising in favor of word of mouth.  Further, plenty of the operators play a particularly hands-on role in the operation-you won’t see idle middle management at a small independent bus company.  Eventually, these operators ensure they fill their buses.  That is 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 companies first started operating, concerns were raised about safety standards.  There’s still controversy within the bus industry about whether these newcomers are complying with the same rules as the standard companies. However a task force set up by the federal government to take a look at questions of safety found that Chinatown bus corporations didn’t perform better or worse than other kinds of bus corporations ( ie.  Charter, tour buses ).  All bus corporations operating in the U.S.  Must undergo the same inspection standards and must obey the same rules.  Realistically there is probably a selection of quality among Chinatown bus carriers.  Some are fly-by-night operators making an attempt to make a fast buck, while others are bonafide 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 will not be a lot of purchaser service.
• Comfortable buses.  Despite the low fares buses are generally quite nice.  Most buses are comparable to Greyhound and many are really more luxury.
• Communication challenges.  Drivers are legally required to speak enough English to help passengers in the case of emergency.  In truth this is regularly adhered to rather loosely.  At the 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 generally a ten or fifteen minute rest room 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 peak times ( weekends and evenings ).  Book ahead or get there early if you want secure a seat.
• Plastic Bags.  A strange tiny affectation on Chinatown buses is that every 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 describe a sort of operator and not an individual bus company.  Many unrelated bus firms fall into this category.  Since most Chinatown buses do not spend money on advertising it can be difficult to discover details about schedules and bus stop locations.  Lots of the carriers are becoming savvier about the web and quite a few have websites with information.  Sometimes a Net search will yield links to bus service to your destination.  There are many directories,eg 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 corporations. 

The Chinatown bus is not for everybody.  If you want an orderly system with Yankee 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 must enjoy the trip fine.  You may also enjoy the cash you save!

Thinking about traveling outside of the country? Famouswonders.com can help you decide where to go on your next vacation, or you can view Baishui Terraces.