In the late 1990s when the 1st low-fare bus service from Chinatown in the Big Apple to Chinatown in Boston started running, few would have anticipated the impact it would have had on the bus industry in total.  This was not a service that was sold to the public.  It was supposed to appeal to a targeted group of people–recent Chinese immigrants–who required an inexpensive way to travel between the two cities to go to family, shop, or work.  The expansion of this phenomenon was organic.  The general public heard of the’Chinatown bus’ thru recommendation by friends.  It caught on quickly and shortly the market was flooded with other corporations offering similar service on a variety of routes. 

it might be incorrect to claim that the sole reason that these firms succeeded was due to cost.  Definitely this was the main enticement for travelers.  However, it has got to be said that the service that the standard bus carriers was offering was ripe for competition.  In truth were the ‘full service’ offerings of the traditional bus companies worth a premium?  Barely.  Buyer service lacked on each level, bus stations didn’t provide a comfortable waiting area, buses were frequently shabby and service was plagued by delays. 

Years after the appearance of this first NY to Boston route, it is worth examining how it has caused the bus industry to evolve as a whole.  Overall, it kind of feels like the independent corporations and the traditional carriers are meeting somewhere in the middle.  Independent carriers have offered more comforts, stick to closer to safety standards and regulations, and increase fares.  At the same time, the normal carriers have been compelled to offer ferociously competitive pricing and generally tighten up their operations.  Greyhound and its partners tend to offer the most competitive pricing on the popular New York-Boston and New York -DC routes.  Further, these routes are the sole ones for which online customers don’t have to pay the big $4 online booking surcharge usually imposed at Greyhound’s website.  They heavily promote this discounted pricing and it sometimes requires customers to book ahead online ( purchasing tickets at the time of departure can be virtually twice as pricey as through their site ). 

What about safety standards?  This is the most argumentative point of discussion in the industry.  There are numerous reports of safety violations and certainly anecdotal accounts of poor safety practices.  it doesn’t appear that the actual safety records of these companies are actually worse than other bus carriers that depend on the same federal laws.  Thanks to intense lobbying efforts, in 2004 a special task force was set up by the federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ( FMCSA ) to step up inspections of’curbside’ ( Chinatown ) bus firms.  Regardless of the increased inspections, the FMCSA reported that curbside carriers had about the same rate of violations as other kinds of carriers under her agency’s authority3.  This is going to be a sign that hazardous operators have either stopped running or have improved their level of safety.

Fortunately bus travel is normally an intensely safe method of transportation, with a mean yearly fatality rate of only 22 for the past 10 years.  No bus deaths to date have concerned Chinatown bus carriers.  Mishaps are frequently reported for all segments of the industry–municipal buses, line run carriers, charter and tour companies1,2.  No concrete research has indicated that Chinatown bus companies have a higher prevalence of Problems than other operators. 

it’s important to note that what was once a little niche of the bus industry is now a crowded segment.  To pile all carriers following this inexpensive model in the same group would be badly judged.  The standard of the service offered by the various corporations varies greatly.  Some are fly-by-night concerns while others have transitioned into large corporations with many employees and fleets of buses. 

Another development is that Chinese immigrants are now not the sole players in this segment of the bus industry.  Many supposed’Chinatown’ bus companies are the property of Hassidic Jews.  Additionally many charter bus companies have entered the line-run business utilizing the same low-cost model as Chinatown bus lines. 

The Chinatown bus industry has grown from an easy, one-man-operation to an established segment of the bus industry.  In all chance the development of the industry is not complete.  We intend to probably see some regulatory changes that may effect the way the Chinatown carriers run their operations.  Similarly, as competition in the segment increases, the poorly run operators will most likely be forced out of the game.  The conventional carriers will have to continue to offer competitive fares and will also have to find new techniques compete.  What’s abundantly clear is that shoppers are more than happy to forgo many of the services offered by traditional carriers in order to economize. 

1Police : Driver fatigue likely factor in fatal bus crash
Monday, November 28, 2005 ; Posted : 7:15 a.m.  EST ( 12:15 GMT ) http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/11/27/california.bus/

2T bus catches fire in Everett ; blaze is 4th in five weeks
No riders are hurt ; officers seek cause
By Lucas Wall, Boston globe October six, 2005

three affidavit of Annette Sandberg, FMCSA administrator, given before the House Committee on transport and Infrastructure Subcommittee on highways, Transit and Pipelines.  Washington DC, march 2, 2006.

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Bus travel takes a different role in the car-driven culture of the US Than it does in most countries. Because the area of the US is so vast, flying is often the most interesting transportation option for traveling between towns and can be priced quite competitively when factoring in time and convenience. For shorter distances driving is mostly the first choice for US domestic travelers. However, for routes that are under five or 6 hours, the bus is almost always the most cost effective and often the most convenient form of travel. Additionally , as Amtrak ( the nation’s rail service) continues to see cuts in executive funding, bus service is often the only ground transportation option for many destinations. Visitors who are planning to adhere to major towns will most likely find having an auto to be inconvenient, pricey, and needless. Thus , taking the bus between destinations is a great option.

Many US citizens view traveling by bus with some terror, and, if merited or not, bus service In America frequently has the US frequently of being rather basic. Truthfully , the standard of service varies seriously among bus carriers. Some carriers, like LuxBus in California or Transfloridian in Florida, offer luxury buses and feature services that are seldom even found on airlines today, such as on-board entertainment and complimentary food and libation service. Still, standard bus service is in generally more about the budget level and offers few comforts. Food options are more likely to be a 10 minute stop at a roadside fast food restaurant than on-board meal service.

The bus industry in the US is controlled by Greyhound, which is the sole remaining across the nation bus carrier. Several other companies such as Trailways and Coach USA are made from independently owned bus firms that share selling functions and branding. In addition there are many robust regional players in the bus industry. Whilst these firms contend with Greyhound, they often end up sharing service on routes that don’t have enough traffic to sustain 2 carriers. This has similarities to “code sharing” in the airline industry.

The most recent development in the U.S. bus industry has been the “Chinatown bus” phenomenon. Several years ago a few enterprising entrepreneurs in New York’s Chinatown started running buses from Chinatown in NY to Chinatown in Boston, charging less than half what standard what traditional bus companies did and a fraction of what it cost to catch the train or fly. They targeted Asian immigrants who wanted to shop or visit relations and needed inexpensive and convenient transport. Though the buses were modern and comfortable, the service was bare bones-no advertising, client service, or bus stations. Shoppers simply went to the bus stop, waited for the bus, and paid the driver upon boarding. For those willing to do without frills, these corporations offered virtually the same service as Greyhound at a significantly lower price.

Soon more bus firms cloned this model and started offering service in other markets. Now you will find this kind of bus service in Philadelphia, Virginia, Washington DC, LA and San Francisco. At about that point the term “Chinatown bus” is used more loosely to explain this kind of low-cost/low-frills service. Many, if not most, of the company’s do not have Chinatown as there main location and may not cater to the immigrant population at all. When these firms initially began operating, concerns were raised about safety standards. There is still controversy within the industry about whether these cheap bus corporations are complying with the same regulations as the traditional companies. Nonetheless, all bus companies operating in the U.S. Must go through the same inspection standards and must go along with the same rules.

Finding info about scheduled bus service is not always easy for visitors to the US. Historically bus corporations have sold tickets at on-site ticket booths. Many now sell thru their own web sites too. While for plane travel there are a few online booking sites that allow travelers to compare different carriers, it is tougher to find route information for bus service. GotoBus.com is a centralized booking site focused on bus travel. It offers search capability similar to Expedia or Travelocity and sells tickets for plenty of different bus and tour firms.

Overall, the bus is a great option for visitors to the US who are looking for transportation between major US cities. For most cities, a car is not necessary and will be inconvenient and expensive. Particularly for shorter distances, it is the best way to go for the budget minded traveler.

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