by Eric Zuerndorfer
CHINATOWN – Two years ago, Sean Dobbin was riding on the Fung Wah bus around midnight. About half the people on the bus were sleeping, but he was not. The bus had already made a few unexpected stops when the driver stopped again and walked off the bus on the outskirts of New York City.
“The only thing he told us was he had ‘personal business to take care of.’ He didn’t come back for a half hour,” said Dobbin, a 22-year-old frequent rider on the Fung Wah.
The Fung Wah is one of many bus services that take passengers from Chinatown in Boston to Chinatown in New York for a minimal fare. However, many passengers like Dobbin have found the cheap fares reflect the service.
“Don’t get me wrong, I always got to New York and then back to Boston,” Dobbin said. “But you absolutely get what you pay for.”
The Fung Wah has received poor driving ratings and complaints. A report by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in 2005 found 73 percent of carriers had better driver-safety records.
A few incidents on the Fung Wah have made headlines. In August 2005, passengers evacuated a Fung Wah bus just before it burst into flames. In July 2007, the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination ruled against Fung Wah in a lawsuit after they refused to let a blind couple bring their guide dog on the bus.
Fung Wah officials insist they take safety seriously.
“The safety concerns get blown out of proportion,” said Bill Wong, an advisor for Fung Wah. “We have more buses than other companies so accidents are bound to happen.”
Fung Wah continues to draw customers because it offers the lowest fares for a very popular traveling route.
“We will keep growing as long our customers want it,” said Sunny Chen, an advisor for Fung Wah.
Greyhound Lines Inc. plans to start a new low-cost bus line from New York to Boston to compete with Fung Wah. The new bus line, called the Bolt bus, will begin in April and offers tickets starting at $1.
“I’ll ride whatever’s the cheapest,” said Ed Han, a 21-year-old frequent Boston-New York commuter.