October 13, 2006
Days of Chinatown Bus "Sidewalk Terminals" May End
A Chinatown bus story that does not involve its speed or quality of the ride: The NY Sun reports that the police aren't very happy with Chinatown buses using previous curbside space, because things are crowded enough. Which led some City Council member Alan Gerson to suggest that a bus terimnal be created for Chinatown: "These buses have more pick-ups and drop-offs than the Port Authority."
Michael Lau, the commanding officer of the 5th Precinct, explained that the streets are way too congested, "adding to the possibility of accidents and violence, as bus drivers jockey for both passengers and parking." Plus, there are "30 different outfits dispatching 100 buses a day." Yikes. Buses may be a huge congestion problem - but what about illegal parking by city employees downtown? And what about Park Row being closed for so many years?
Lau did have recommendations: He suggested the buses do their pickups at the Port Authority and 165th Street Bus Terminal in Queens, and that a new terminal be built at the South Street Seaport. Interesting - we wonder moving operations out of Chinatown will affect biz. If anything, it might open things up to more customers, because people will follow good deals. Now, if the buses can work on their safety...
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Call me cynical, but why do I have the sneaking suspicion that Greyhound might be behind some of these "complaints?"
Greyhound used to be affordable, but their rates are beyond insane. The quality certainly hasn't justified the meteoric rise in fares.
I'd rather fly to boston then take a god damn chinatown bus.
But I'd rather take a bus then take that waste of life train called the Acela.
A Terminal might be a good idea, but will that area be big enough for a Terminal that might handle more people then the PA on 42nd?
I imagine a bus terminal in Lower Manhattan could work out pretty well. I hope it has a subway connection.
Hey! Does anybody know how you get information on all these lines? I want a cheap bus to Foxwoods!
The infamous Fung Wah bus (love the Star Wars-like lettering on the back) seems to just do NY-Boston.
I think it's pretty funny that the NYPD/city are complaining about how these buses take up too much curb space as the police and municipal workers park their cars EVERYWHERE in chinatown regardless of parking rules. So, what, the fungwa buses take up too much precious illegal parking spots?
I know two wrongs don't make a right, but this complaint from the NYPD is what you would characterize as the pot calling the kettle black.
As for NYPD and municipal workers parking down there, everywhere. They have to, there's no place else provided for them to park. These people need to get to work and naturally there needs to be a place for them to put there cars. Sadly though, this isn't exactly easy.
I see the issue with the buses as well. I don't know where they could put a bus terminal down there. It blows my mind that those buses do more business than the PA Bus Terminal.
nypd has some nerve complaining about this, considering how their illegal parking and park row closure has f*cked over the neighborhood
Dan, why should municipal workers get guaranteed parking spaces when the rest of the city relies on mass transit, their feet, bikes, or parking garages? Using public space (the street) to store big, heavy private property (a car) is not a right.
can we please get rid of those vendors outside of whole foods on 14th street?!!!!!!!???!!!!!!!! It's ridiculous. dangerous.
Dan, in addition to what Spike commented last I heard those NYPD officers also get an additional perk of riding mass transit for FREE! LIRR/Metro North/etc. FREE. How much more of an incentive is it do we need to give to these people to leave the fraking SUV at home and take mass transit. So please save the sob story of these poor helpless NYPD officer having no where to park their cars. My heart is just breaking.
Dan, yeah, really. Save us the sob story. "NYPD has to break the law." Give me a break. It's both not true, and no excuse.
If they move the chinatown busses to the Port Athority it would ruin their business. First of all the reason it's so cheap is that they don't have to pay the fees to use the bus terminal. When Fung Wah was forced into the bus terminal in boston (Which wasn't so bad being that's it's two blocks from chinatown) the price went up 10 bucks for a round trip. My guess is that if they had to move to the PA it would cost the same as Greyhound. Also, it would loose the convience factor that makes is so appealing to people in BK and downtown NYC.
I just phoned the 5th police precinct and was told the new pickup is at Pike and Cherry St. This seems to be a better spot. I pray the local government does not force them to the cesspool known as the Port Authority. The place is disgusting and inconvenient.