Fung Wah Bus Transportation

Fung Wah Bus Transportation, Inc.

Fung Wah Bus Van Hool C2045 #98 makes a stopover in eastern Connecticut along its route.
Founded 1996
Defunct 2015
Headquarters 25 Edinboro Street, Boston, MA 02111
Locale Northeastern United States
Service area New York City and Boston
Service type Line-run service
Routes 1
Stations 2
Fleet 28[1]
Chief executive Pei Lin Liang
Website fungwahbus.com

Fung Wah Bus Transportation Inc. (Traditional Chinese: 風華巴士有限公司, Simplified Chinese: 风华巴士有限公司) was a bus company that operated a line run between Boston and New York City, United States. It operated from 1996 to 2015, except for a brief period in 2014 when it was shut down for safety inspections.

Etymology

The name Fung Wah came from the Cantonese pronunciation of the Chinese name 風華, which means "magnificent wind."[2]

Route

Fung Wah used a fleet of over two dozen buses to operate hourly scheduled service between South Station in Boston and Chinatown in Manhattan. It usually traveled over Interstate 95 on its route.[3]

History

Bus boarding in Boston

Fung Wah was founded in New York City in 1996, as Fung Wah Transport Vans, Inc., by Pei Lin Liang, who had immigrated from Zhuhai, China in 1988. Before founding the company, Liang had worked as a driver for Four Seas, a local dollar van service that shuttled Chinese garment and restaurant workers from Sunset Park in Brooklyn to Chinatown in Manhattan.[4] Fung Wah began as a direct competitor with Liang's former employer.[5] The Chinese characters of the company's name were written in English as Fenghua Jieyun Gongsi and translated as Elegant Rapid Transit Company.[6] Translations of "Fung Wah" from Cantonese included Chinese Wind.[6]

In 1997, Liang borrowed $60,000 and bought four vans[7] at the request of customers who wanted to visit their children in college in Boston,[5] and gradually grew to being a low cost intercity transit provider.[6] As one of the first of the Chinatown bus lines, Fung Wah operated between designated curbside locations only.[8] By 2003, Fung Wah and competitors like Lucky Star Bus were competing fiercely, with low prices and allegations of crime connections at other competitors.[9] While it originally operated curbside out of Boston's Chinatown, Fung Wah moved to the nearby Boston South Station bus terminal in 2004 due to traffic concerns from Boston city government.[4][10] Between 1997 and 2007, Chinatown buses like Fung Wah took 60% of Greyhound Lines' market share in the northeast United States.[11]

On June 15, 2009, Fung Wah expanded service to Rhode Island at the Kennedy Plaza bus terminal[12] in downtown Providence, but discontinued this route in 2010.

In February 2013, an investigative report broadcast on WBZ-TV Boston found cracked frames on Fung Wah buses. Massachusetts authorities then ordered most of the Fung Wah fleet off the road.[13] In March 2013, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration declared Fung Wah an "imminent hazard to public safety" and ordered it to cease all operations with its then-current fleet.[14] On March 28, 2013, the US Department of Transportation ordered the company to immediately suspend all service.[15] In September 2013, it was reported that both Fung Wah and Lucky Star lines (another "Chinatown bus" line) had done extensive work, training, and purchases hoping to get their bus lines operating again. There would be a re-filing for their operating licenses and possible limited resumption of service in Fall 2013.[16]

On February 7, 2014, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration denied Fung Wah's request to resume operations, claiming the company "was not willing nor able to comply" with federal intercity bus safety standards. Fung Wah's law firm, the New York firm Freeman Lewis LLC, appealed the decision.[17]

On December 18, 2014, it was announced that the bus line would resume service in early 2015. Fung Wah spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to improve the safety of its buses between February 2013 and December 2014; in addition, it was revealed that inspections of the buses were flawed. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will monitor Fung Wah closely after operations resume.[18][19]

However, in July 2015, before resumption of service was slated to start, owner Peter Liang announced that the service would end permanently.[20] The line reportedly shut down because it could not find a bus stop in Boston's South Station.[21] Alternatives, such as Alewife station at the northern terminus of the Red Line subway in Cambridge, were reportedly given as an option but deemed too far away from it's traditional operating locus near Chinatown in Boston.[21]

Controversy

"Fare wars"

With fares lower than other bus and rail carriers between New York City and Boston (as low as $10 during a fare war[22]) Fung Wah had become popular with young people and other travelers on a budget.[23] In early 2013, Massachusetts and Federal authorities issued a series of safety citations, declared it to be an "imminent hazard to public safety", imposed operating restrictions, and ultimately ordered Fung Wah to cease all operations.[13][14]

Safety-related incidents

The Fung Wah Bus crash of June 23, 2008

Fung Wah buses have been involved in several safety-related incidents. In 2005, the company was given a federal safety rating of 73 out of 100, 100 being the worst, and 75 or above considered at risk of being unsafe and subject to crashes.[5] Ian Grossman of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (United States Department of Transportation) reported that Fung Wah drivers rated in the worst 2 percent of drivers nationwide based on regulatory violations, and nine out of 71 Fung Wah drivers were suspended after inspection between 2004 and 2006.[6] Still, many travelers were not discouraged.[24]

Discrimination lawsuit

In January 2004, due to the company's policy barring pets from buses, the Fung Wah Bus Company refused to sell tickets to a blind couple traveling with a guide dog, even when informed by the couple—and later by police responding to a disturbance call—that the couple had the right to board the bus with a service animal.[38][39] In conjunction with the Massachusetts Attorney General, the couple later filed a discrimination lawsuit against the company, which was allowable per the Attorney General's office: "Massachusetts law prohibits discrimination against blind persons and requires businesses to allow service animals in their establishments even when there is an existing “no pet” policy, as long as the animal is controlled and does not otherwise pose an undue burden."[38][39] In July 2007, the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination awarded the couple $60,000 in damages, assessed a $10,000 civil penalty payable to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and ordered the company to take several steps to prevent discrimination in the future.[38][39]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Johnston, Katie (February 25, 2013). "Fung Wah company pulls buses off the road after state inspections find structural cracks". Boston Globe (Boston). Retrieved 2013-02-26.
  2. ↑ "The Passing of a Magnificent Wind". VICE. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  3. ↑ Carrier Overview: Fung Wah", US Department of Transportation
  4. 1 2 Farivar, Cyrus, "Murder and Vice on the Lower East Side: The Past, Present and Future of the 'Chinatown Buses'", Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, March 21, 2005
  5. 1 2 3 Donovan, Slack (September 4, 2005). "Ratings signal warning for fast-growing Fung Wah". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on October 1, 2005. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Collins, Clayton (15 September 2006). "Backstory: Travel noir – the Fung Wah 'extreme'". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  7. ↑ Luo, Michael (21 February 2004). "In Chinatown, a $10 Trip Means War; Weary Owners Struggle to Stay Afloat in Cutthroat Competition". New York Times. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  8. ↑ Carpenter, Mackenzie (August 16, 2006). "'Chinatown bus services' have grown quickly since 1998". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette., Aug. 16, 2006
  9. ↑ O'Shaughnessy, Patrice (16 June 2003). "Chinatown Bus War Fuels Probe: Slain businessman tied to mob, cops say". New York Daily News. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  10. ↑ Gross, Courtney (January 23, 2005). "Loyal riders now moved to choose". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2007-03-23.
  11. ↑ Schliefer, Theodore (2013-08-08). "Bus travel is picking up, aided by discount operators". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  12. ↑ Makishima, Paul (June 9, 2009). "Fung Wah Bus plans Providence-NY bus service". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on September 6, 2010. Retrieved 2009-06-19.
  13. 1 2 Johnston, Katie (26 February 2013). "Fung Wah removes 21 buses from fleet Cracks found in vehicles’ frames". Boston Globe. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  14. 1 2 "Fung Wah Bus Transportation, Inc., Ordered to Cease All Operations". FMCA Newsroom. US Department of Transportation. 28 March 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2014. An investigation by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has found Fung Wah Bus Transportation, Inc., of Boston, Mass., to be an imminent hazard to public safety and ordered to cease all passenger operations.
  15. ↑ "US DOT Orders Fung Wah Bus To Immediately Cease Passenger Service". CBS News New York. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
  16. ↑ Johnston, Katie, "Fung Wah, Lucky Star may be on the road again soon", The Boston Globe, September 27, 2013.
  17. ↑ Johnston, Katie (February 7, 2014). "Federal officials keep Fung Wah off the road". The Boston Globe. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
  18. ↑ Newsham, Jack, "Fung Wah gets federal approval to return to the road", The Boston Globe, December 18, 2014
  19. ↑ Connor Adams Sheets (18 December 2014). "Fung Wah's Chinatown Buses To Return To Road In 2015". International Business Times. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  20. ↑ Chris Fuchs. "Fung Wah Bus Company Shuts Down for Good". NBC News. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  21. 1 2 Cush, Andy (2015-07-16). "Pour One Out for Fung Wah Bus, Which May Never Return to the Road". Gawker. Retrieved 2015-09-19.
  22. ↑ Luo, Michael (21 February 2004). "In Chinatown, a $10 Trip Means War; Weary Owners Struggle to Stay Afloat in Cutthroat Competition". New York Times. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  23. ↑ Derouchie, Daniel. "Fung Wah Buses: The Lines are Long, but the Price is Right". GoNomad.com.
  24. ↑ Lewis, Sam, "Many Travelers Not Deterred by Deadly Bus Crashes", WNYC news, New York City, Tuesday, March 15, 2011
  25. ↑ Ross, Casey (August 16, 2005). "Flames engulf Fung Wah bus in Connecticut". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2007-01-24.
  26. ↑ "34 hurt, driver cited for Fung Wah bus rollover in Auburn". The Boston Globe. September 6, 2006. Archived from the original on March 28, 2009. Retrieved 2007-01-24.
  27. ↑ "Fung Wah bus company fined $31K for rollover". The Boston Globe. October 31, 2006. Archived from the original on March 29, 2009. Retrieved 2007-01-24.
  28. ↑ "Fung Wah Bus Loses Wheels". WCVB-TV. January 3, 2007.
  29. ↑ "Fung Wah Bus Crashes On Turnpike". WCVB-TV. February 14, 2007.
  30. ↑ Ryan, Tim (March 23, 2007). "Fung Wah Bus Involved In Mishap". WCVB-TV. Retrieved 2007-03-23.
  31. ↑ Noah Bierman (June 24, 2008). "Boston-bound bus hit by truck in NYC; pedestrian is killed". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2008-06-24.
  32. ↑ "Bus Crashes Into Bank In Manhattan". WNYW. June 23, 2008. Archived from the original on April 26, 2009. Retrieved 2008-06-23.
  33. ↑ "One Dead, Four Injured When Bus Jumps Curb In Chinatown", NY1 News, June 23, 2008
  34. ↑ El-Ghobashy, Tamer (June 25, 2008). "Rig in fatal crash had faulty brakes". Daily News (New York). Archived from the original on June 26, 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-25.
  35. ↑ "Company Snapshot: FUNG WAH BUS TRANSPORTATION INC: USDOT Number: 954187", United States Department of Transportation.
  36. ↑ "US orders Fung Wah bus line to suspend passenger service over safety concerns". Boston Globe (Boston). February 26, 2013. Retrieved 2013-02-26.
  37. ↑ Johnston, Katie (March 1, 2013). "Federal authorities shut down Fung Wah". Boston Globe (Boston). Retrieved March 2, 2013.
  38. 1 2 3 "Fung Wah Loses Discrimination Lawsuit: MCAD: Bus Co. Discriminates Against Blind Travelers". WCVB. July 12, 2007. Retrieved 2008-06-23.
  39. 1 2 3 Amie Breton (July 12, 2007). "ATTORNEY GENERAL COAKLEY WINS LAWSUIT AGAINST FUNG WAH BUS COMPANY FOR REFUSING TO SELL TICKETS TO BLIND COUPLE". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2008-06-23.

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