Results tagged “chinatownbus”

Despite their uber cheap ticket prices, Chinatown bus companies are often shredded by complaints from riders for their recklessness and neighborhood residents for their blatant clogging of the area's already congested streets. According to amNewYork, the NYPD has finally stepped in: towing 11 buses and handing out 63 summonses on August 14, 20 and 21. This comes after it was revealed that most bus companies owe an average of $5,600 in fines. One company in particular, New Century Travel, takes the cake owing a whopping $136,387.35. Most of their tickets even date back to July 2007! "It's way overdue...This cannot be a one-time thing," Susan Stetzer, district manager for Manhattan's Community Board 3, said of the towing effort. "They're using public streets as their locations to make money as a private business and on top of it, they're not even paying fines. It's a loss of revenue for the city." The buses have been called "purgatory on wheels," and solutions for their vehicular messes have been thrown around for years now— one of which was creating a terminal to house them— but to no avail.

More details on the Asian organized crime arrests from yesterday: The Post reports (with the headline "FEDS' KUNG POW") that the feds "broke up a vicious Chinatown gang that allegedly inflicted brutal beatings to muscle in on private bus and van companies." The gang, the "Banya Organization" with gang members named Fatty, Big Flower, and Vegetable Duck, tried to "extort partial ownership" and profits from two unnamed discount bus companies. The gang, also accused of trafficking horse tranquilizer "Special K," kidnapping conspiracy and gambling operations, made over $10 million.

WNBC reports that 16 people with ties to "Asian organized crime were arrested overnight by a task force of FBI, NYPD, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) investigators for allegedly extorting bus companies." Fifteen of the suspects were arrested in the NYC area, while the 16th was in Florida, and they are charged with "various acts of violence and extortion targeting operators of bus companies which do business between New York and east coast cities." More details will be released later, but we are guessing this is related to the Chinatown bus routes--back in 2003, one bus operator was murdered.

Two people remain hospitalized after a tour bus heading toward Niagara Falls from Chinatown toppled over 40 miles west of the George Washington Bridge along I-80 in Roxbury, NJ yesterday morning. Over 40 passengers were aboard the bus when they found themselves flipped over into an embankment along Route 80 in Morris County after the bus was rear-ended by another charter. Another 20 people received medical attention but were discharged with minor bumps and bruises. The bus had left Chinatown about an hour prior on what was supposed to be a two-day tour. It was owned by Atlantic Express and chartered by Paradise Tours.

Back in 1933 Popular Science reported on New York engineer Walter H. Judson's new railway which would have trains running from San Francisco to New York in 18 hours, and Chicago to New York in 5.5 hours. Now it's the buses battling it out to have the quickest times and cheapest fares to and from New York.

The NYC-DC bus fare wars have a new player: Greyhound division BoltBus will be launching service on March 27 and has started to sell tickets for as low as $1 (plus a 50 cent booking fee).

A 92-year-old woman was run over and dragged by a Chinatown bus yesterday afternoon. Her injuries were so bad that her legs were amputated at Bellevue.

That bus exhaust fume you smell is that sound of a bus price war! Greyhound has entered the fray of discount bus routes, dropping their prices as low as $15 for one way and $30 for round-trip for the NYC-Boston route that the Chinatown buses have dominated with their low low prices. Fung Wah currently charges $15 for a one-way ticket.

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."

Is this a new era in Chinatown buses? The Fung Wah Bus Company has agreed to 30 day of unannounced inspections and driver checks. Last week, a speeding Fung Wah bus overturned on a Massachusetts highway and 33 passengers were injured, raising more concerns about safety on cheap and unregulated bus lines. What's more, Fung Wah will also make sure only "properly trained" drivers who "speak the English language and to converse with the general public" will be manning the buses. Well, that's all well and good, but what about after the 30 days? Will Fung Wah go back to its old ways? Or will they raise prices in order to keep "up-to-inspection" standards buses and drivesr?

Thirty three Fung Wah bus passengers were injured when a bus "rolled off an exit ramp" in Massachusetts yesterday. The State Police said, "It appears the bus was probably traveling too fast for the off-ramp, which caused the bus to roll over on its side." The injuries were not serious, but one woman told the Daily News, "Everybody knew [the driver was speeding]. The weater was fine. The roads weren't slick and it's the middle of the day so traffic wasn't bad. Yes, I have to say it was the driver's fault." Well, he was probably in a hurry to pick up more $15 passengers. While it's scary, it probably won't prevent people from taking them.

Project Jenny/Project Jan are: Sammy Rubin (Programmer/keyboardist) and Jeremy Haines (Vocalist)

Project Jenny/Project Jan first caught our attention with the Chinatown Bus song, of course. Their experimental take on pretty much every genre of music will make even the most reserved person in the crowd dance. Rock and hip hop blend with projections in their mixed media dance party.

Movable Hype 8.0 is coming up next Tuesday July 11th! We're starting to book this as more of a New York bands showcase. We've brought down a Canadian band we love for this one though (if Philly is the 6th, can we make Canada the 7th borough?) Here are the details for next week:

David Joerg, Co-Founder of Vindigo

Black Table had the definitive guide to young New Yorkers' Chinatown bus trips. Gothamist previously on the Chinatown buses.

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The growing rivalry between competing bus operators in Chinatown has escalated to the murder of one driver/owner, after a chase down Henry Street to Market Street. The victim, De Jian Chen, had worked at Dragon Coach earlier but then left to form Dragon Coach U.S.A.: "Over the last year, several Chinatown bus lines that offer low fares to Philadelphia, Washington, Boston and other destinations have competed so fiercely for riders that fistfights have broken out between rival employees, and neighbors have complained of ganglike violence."