September 10, 2007
Chinatown Bus: All Things Go
YouTube user northeastcentral edited together this little music video ode to the Chinatown bus to Sufjan Stevens' song "Chicago," writing:
I got this idea while watching a sequence from "Little Miss Sunshine" and decided that a video of the Chinatown bus could also be relatively faithful to the lyrics of the music in those scenes. This was the result.~The price...
~The speed...
~The sketchiness...
~The freedom...
Many of us who rely on the extremely cheap but famously unreliable Chinatown buses to take us to New York or Philadelphia on a regular basis can no doubt relate.
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I guess we all probably have our own stories, but I'm going to contribute mine here in the comments anyway.
On my very first Chinatown bus ride, while stuck in pretty bad traffic going north on 95, the bus broke down. The A/C stopped, things started to get a bit warm and sticky, and the passengers started to grumble and stir a bit.
But our faithful driver was not deterred! He reached into a bag, snapped on a pair of yellow rubber kitchen gloves, walked to the side of the bus and fiddled with something and next thing we knew, we were back up and running.
While still sorta frightening, I doubt Greyhound drivers are also their own mechanics. And all that versatility for just $35 round trip!
Not sure where to put this and I am too lazy to find the post on the DC handgun law so just want to say that the attorneys representing the DC residents who contested a District law banning handguns have put up a website: http://www.dcguncase.com/blog/
voteprime-the same thing happened to us, except our driver was no mechanic and our bus broke down 5 times on the way home fron NYC. Each time the driver would casually drift onto the shoulder, slow down to about 10mph and try to restart the bus before it stopped-worked like a charm, except that the a/c wouldn't work for the first 15 mins after the bus started back up... of course, can't really complain-I got there and back for $35 and in one piece to boot!
If you're riding the Chinatown bus then you're supporting discrimination.
The Chinatown bus companies discriminate against people who are blind or in wheelchairs. There have been several complaints filed against the companies by blind people with guide dogs. Bus drivers have barred blind people from the buses, tried to make the dogs ride under the bus in the baggage compartment and forced the blind to ride in the back of the bus. And none of the companies provide access for people in wheelchairs.
You really have to place no value on your time to ride a bus to NY over taking the train or flying.
To sit on a bus for 5, 6, 7, 10? hours when you can go to the dedicated Delta Shuttle ticket counter at DCA, go through A terminal security, board, fly to LGA, hop in a cab, and be in Manhattan in 90 minutes makes absolutely no sense.
Guest 5, or you might be broke. Just saying. Not everyone has the spare cash to take the Shuttle, especially not students or lower-income people in general.
The bus is cheap and for the most part effective. I mean what do you expect...Build a bridge and get over it. As far as the company and discrimination that is unfortunate and probabbly should be looked into.
Actually just took my first Chinatown bus this Saturday - it was alright. The bus didn't break down, and the driver let us stop at a rest stop in Jersey.
I took the Vamoose bus back, though... WAY more comfortable and totally worth the $5 more. (Vamoose is $25 each way between DC and New York... Chinatown is $20)
guest [5]
10 hours? Really? When? How? And of course, there are never delays when taking the train or a plane. I trust you didn't hear about the 14-hour flight from NYC-Atlanta that some lucky Delta passengers took last week?
Anyway I have done the DC-NY route numerous times and the most it ever took was 5 hours, and that was in the middle of a torrential downpour. But the last time I went, it took only 3.5 hours. That was just jaw-droppingly incredible. We must have gone through a time warp.
Guest 4, if you are taking the Chinatown bus you are really not supporting anything as they can hardy run a company on 35 dollar fares. And I really can't support guest 5's pompous statements. Why doesn't everyone fly? Why don't they all wear jimmy choos and eat at the palms? Ignorant post.
Guest 5, for my time, Chinatown busses are more efficient than flying. 4 hours on a bus is the perfect amount of time to get really deep into a good book, and without having to waste time going through security. I've never had a bus break down.
I think it took me about 4 hours last time I took the bus up to NYC (Peter Pan to the Port Authority terminal). Since I couldn't afford to take a cab in from the airport, I think I ended up saving time overall, once you factor in taking Metro to DCA, waiting at DCA and taking the subway/bus from LGA or JFK. Plus I still head to work my way over to Jersey City. So the bus served me well that day at least.
Oh give me a break, if you buy a service from a company that discriminates then you're helping them to continue that discrimination.
For what it's worth, the Delta Shuttle was delayed 81% of the time this year. Sounds like fun.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2007/09/03/business/20070903_DELAY_GRAPHIC.html#
Ah, the Chinatown bus - the mode of transportation that will guarantee you have at least 3 stories before you even get to NYC.
It's tough to pick a favorite, but it'd have to be when I was sound asleep and soon awakened by someone screaming 'FIRE'. Turned around to see smoke filling the back of the bus. We pulled over, sat on the grass alongside 95 for a good 30 minutes, after which the driver decided it was no big deal and everyone should get back on the bus (of course, we heard this from a fellow passenger acting as translator). He then dropped us off at the Greyhound station in bmore and wished us luck. Oh, and my favorite racist comment from the trip: (as we are sitting in the grass waiting) 'Maybe they put soy sauce in the engine'
Every time I take it I bitch and moan all weekend about how horrible it was, but that $35 round-trip ticket is just too hard to resist.
chinatown bus may be awesome, but that video was 5-shades of boring. *yawn
The train and plane may be a way to get to NYC, but they're $120 roundtrip, minimum. If you're flying in, you still need to get into Manhattan, which can be a long bus subway ride, or an expensive cab ride.
The bus (Greyhound, Vamoose, DC2NY, or Chinatown) will get you there for $35 roundtrip. Not too bad for a little longer than the train.
Though to be fair, i haven't taken Chinatwon in ages. Greyhound is the same price and much more reliable.
I find the Deluxe or Vamoose buses best. 4 hours downtown-to-downtown. Clean vehicles, no nasty bus terminals. Sometimes you get lucky and they don't show a cheesy movie.
I just took the DC2NY.com bus to NY memorial day weekend and highly recommend them. There was an orderly queue, a passenger manifest, cold water, clean bathrooms, WiFi, and convenient pickup and dropoff locations. Did I mention that my feet weren't resting in the remants of someone's discarded salad like the last (and I mean last)time I took the Chinatown bus. Well worth $5 more!
Seriously you guys. Peter Pan.
Although it is rather inconvenient how far from a Metro stop the Greyhound station is. Tip: the NY Ave stop is closer than Union Station.