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So what's the story?
Was Fung Wah's safety that bad, or are they forced out for traditional Boston reasons (to hand the business to some connected person)?
Pretty sure it's the second
Pretty sure it's the second one.
What changed?
When did they ever have a "place to go"? AFAIK they just picked people up at the corner of Essex and Harrison.
They used the South Station
They used the South Station bus terminal for years.
Where have you been?
That was many years ago. In 2004, the city forced all the Chinese buses to pick up an drop off at the South Station Bus Terminal.
Where have I been?
Chinatown, obviously ;-) I work about a block away from Chinatown, but I never get over to South Station. And regardless of what the city "forced" in 2004, well, let's just say you still see a lot of people standing around on that corner with luggage.
Yes, the forcing happened and
Yes, the forcing happened and any long distance bus must operate from South Station since 2004. I don't know what you been looking, but it's not long distance buses (or at least officially).
Regardless the practice is still allowed or not, it seems Fung Wah been all ready to go and just needs a Boston Stop. And they are finding no designated place that would say yes to them.
Within the month I've taken a
Within the month I've taken a bus from Boston to another state that picked up me and other passengers from the street. I don't want to say too much and get the operator in trouble but this is their SOP. I don't know if they are taking advantage of some loophole in the definition of "long distance" bus or just flouting the rule.
the article
actually explains why.. when they were forced out of service, they had to give up their berth at South Station, which probably went to someone else. Now there's no space at SS now, and since the City of Boston forces all bus operators to start/end from South Station there's no place for them to operate now.
Lucky Star was smart, they
Lucky Star was smart, they kept up the rental fees at South Station even while they were shut down. Once they had the green light to resume service, their docks were still waiting for them at South Station.
I think Fung Wah wasn't given
I think Fung Wah wasn't given that choice, and that the bus terminal management terminated their lease.
It has been quite a while
It has been quite a while since they did that. Being in the bus terminal was very successful for them, maybe too successful. I have no doubt they failed to grease some "wheels" and got spanked for it. The northeast corridor is a cash cow for a lot of entrenched interests. For instance it costs about the same to take Amtrak from Boston to New Haven (about 140 miles) as it does to take Amtrak from Chicago to St. Paul (about 400 miles). Bolt, Greyhound, and Megabus deserve to be shut down for their crummy service and rediculously high prices. Lucky Star still seems to be going strong but you wonder how much longer a little fish can swim in these waters.
Amtrak
isn't an exact parallel to the bus companies, since they're a quasi-government department.
It's mandated that their operating budget at least breaks even, i.e. that they operate without taxpayer subsidy. However, they're forbidden from acting like a private business and shedding money-losing routes. It's truly the worst of both worlds, with the public-service mandate of a government agency plus the requirement to turn a profit like a private business, and none of the advantages of either.
The NEC is one of two routes Amtrak has in the US that makes a profit; the other is, IIRC, a Pacific-coast route between SF and Vancouver. So the NEC's fares have to subsidize Amtrak's money-losers elsewhere on the system, which is part of the reason fares on the NEC are so high.
Amtrak fares
It's far worse than that.
A ticket from Chicago to St. Paul this weekend starts at $66. I'd be *thrilled* to find a fare less than $100 from Boston to NYC at a peak time.
With no Fung Wah, the other bus fares have been creeping up. This means more people turn to driving, which not only means more traffic and pollution, but more car accidents.
Don't wait until the last minute then
Friday, June 6th there are 3 trains to NYP (New York Penn Station) for $74. The following Friday, it goes down to $52. If you can go on Thursday instead, they're all $52-$74.
And if you sign up for their emails you will get notified of sales where tickets can be had for $27.
6:10 am, 6:45 pm, and the
6:10 am, 6:45 pm, and the extra-slow train at 9:30 pm. No thanks.
Awaking the Liberterian in me Again
The idea and justification of regulation is to counter-balance companies to uphold safety standards that otherwise would not by themselves.
Instead, at best of intentions, this is acting like a giant barrier being played out showing why the argument "it's a free market, if they are so bad, just started your own company and you'll beat them). At worse, this is just a convoluted way to pick favorites all under a infuriating guise of "safety".
You know the funny thing about the founder immigrating from China, if he started the company there and reached a similar size then catching the attention of a few in power. It would have been resolved with a few friendly "gifts". Despite how corrupt of the practice - at least it's more straightforward and honest than this BS.
Anyone know any actions we can do as members of the public?
At least Lucky Star survived this travesty. The original may die, along with 110 other Chinese-American bus companies. But by luck or planning, I'm glad the rival offshoot gets to live, at least for now.
Federal law says that
Federal law says that interstate bus services are allowed to operate without interference from state or local regulators. This includes the right to stop on the street, as opposed to being told they have to use a bus terminal that has no space for them.
Apparently Boston doesn't care about the law.
Uhub Question
Got a citation for that?
I'd like to think Mayor Menino and his legal team at City Hall thought this out. And besides, it went on for many, many years.. if there was a legal issue, I bet all those chinatown buses would have sued (and won). So there's probably no issue at all.
And besides, they told them they had to drop off and pick up at a bus terminal, they were not interfering with the operation, just telling operators they had to use a bus terminal. And this all could have been slid under 'safety' reasons.
So do you have a citation for that?
I don't have a cite. But I've
I don't have a cite. But I've discussed this issue with the owners of several bus companies.
This free-market system is one of the main reasons why the discount bus industry was able to develop in the last 15 years. If you want to run an intrastate bus, you need permission, and states usually grant monopolies. But if it's interstate, anyone can run a bus as long as they meet the safety requirements.
A Chinatown bus company has nowhere near as big a legal budget as Boston.
And telling them that they have to use a bus terminal, but sorry, that terminal is full, sure sounds like interference.
Maybe you could argue it was for safety if Boston said, "You can't stop at the corner of Harrison and Beach because it causes traffic jams, so here's an alternate curbside location a block away." But instead they said no buses can stop on the street anywhere in the City of Boston.
Also note that the bus terminal has plenty of capacity. The problem is that the big companies like Greyhound and Peter Pan squat on gates they don't need. There are plenty of gates used for things like 4 daily trips to Montreal, etc, which could easily be combined with other routes.
But as long as we have this constraint, it means no new mass transit companies can ever serve Boston. I can't see how anyone thinks that's a good idea.
Ok, here's a citation.
Ok, here's a citation.
http://www.voicesofny.org/2013/10/residents-decry-chinatown-is-not-a-bus...
In a hearing about bus stop locations in NYC, the chairman of Community Board 3's transportation committee said, "Bus companies can’t be banned from the streets; federal interstate commerce statutes take precedence."
NYC is regulating where buses can stop, by holding public hearings and assigning curbside spaces. This hasn't been challenged in court yet, but even if it isn't, they aren't going nearly as far as Boston in banning curbside bus service entirely.
49 USC 14501
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/49/14501
49 U.S. Code § 14501 - Federal authority over intrastate transportation
(a) Motor Carriers of Passengers.—
(1) Limitation on state law.— No State or political subdivision thereof and no interstate agency or other political agency of 2 or more States shall enact or enforce any law, rule, regulation, standard, or other provision having the force and effect of law relating to—
(A) scheduling of interstate or intrastate transportation (including discontinuance or reduction in the level of service) provided by a motor carrier of passengers subject to jurisdiction under subchapter I of chapter 135 of this title on an interstate route;
(B) the implementation of any change in the rates for such transportation or for any charter transportation except to the extent that notice, not in excess of 30 days, of changes in schedules may be required; or
(C) the authority to provide intrastate or interstate charter bus transportation.
This paragraph shall not apply to intrastate commuter bus operations, or to intrastate bus transportation of any nature in the State of Hawaii.
(2) Matters not covered.— Paragraph (1) shall not restrict the safety regulatory authority of a State with respect to motor vehicles, the authority of a State to impose highway route controls or limitations based on the size or weight of the motor vehicle, or the authority of a State to regulate carriers with regard to minimum amounts of financial responsibility relating to insurance requirements and self-insurance authorization.
City owns the sidewalk, and
City owns the sidewalk, and can restrict how it is used. Why don't they just make an arrangement to use a cheap off street location like a hotel parking lot, gas station driveway, etc. City has no say if they aren't blocking the sidewalk.
Like this will stop them.
Like this will stop them. Busses, and not just MBTA/Commuter busses, are dropping and picking folks up on Lincoln street all day long. Lincoln & Beach has become a defacto bus terminal.
Concord Coach doesn't care
It will continue to illegally drop off passengers on Purchase & Federal at 8:11am daily, backing up vehicular and pedestrian traffic despite numerous complaints to corporate headquarters and the City of Boston.
hold up
You and the above person said the same thing.
Are you sure these aren't commuter buses O&O by Concord Coach? Those drop off at key places around town. They aren't intercity buses, they are commuter coaches, so they probably aren't required to use the SSBT.
If you're complaining, especially to the city, and nothing is done. I'm willing to bet they are commuter coaches not intercity buses (i.e. Peter Pan)
PS - Charter buses do not have to use SSBT either. These could be charter buses too.
What I'm referring to are not
What I'm referring to are not O&O by Concord Coach. I'm referring to interstate busses and tour buses stopping, sometimes double parked, on Lincoln, South and Beach Streets in the Leather District.
When I lived in the Leather District, we were told by the neighborhood association to contact the police because these busses were not allowed to do this.
My newest rant is directed at all the private shuttles and MGH busses that pick up and drop off on Causeway by North Station. Obviously this is a result of there being no convenient way to get to Kendall or the Seaport from North Station via public transportation, but there isn't enough room on the sidewalk for pedestrians and the folks waiting for the shuttle.
If the BTD wasn't brain-dead,
If the BTD wasn't brain-dead, they could figure out where to put a shuttle loading area near North Station.
It's not illegal if the buses
It's not illegal if the buses are interstate.
And there's no legal distinction between a commuter bus and an intercity bus.