Fung Wah, the low-cost bus carrier shut down by the federal government last week after it stopped cooperating with regulators, deserves little sympathy. The company repeatedly skirted the law, hiring unqualified drivers and putting unsafe vehicles on its popular Boston-to-New York service. When federal bus regulators initially ordered the company to halt service last Tuesday, one of its buses departed South Station anyway, a final act of defiance that seemed to symbolize its years of disregard for safety regulations.
But the low-cost service that Fung Wah pioneered should not disappear with the company. For all its obvious faults, Fung Wah has done a lot of good for Boston travelers by injecting more competition in the bus industry and driving down fares. When the Chinatown buses first emerged in the late ’90s, established carriers insisted it was impossible to carry passengers so cheaply without cutting corners. Fung Wah itself never completely disproved that charge. But Megabus and BoltBus, low-cost bus lines that have become established carriers over the last decade, have demonstrated that safe, low-fare carriers are viable — and probably wouldn’t have existed if Fung Wah hadn’t disrupted the market. Consumers have benefited from the competition in other ways, too; bus companies have added amenities like wi-fi and laptop outlets.
Comments
Very true. Due to a funeral needed to get to NYC this morning from Boston. Train this morning $125 (no buses could get there in time for the funeral).. bus home $13.
I love the train but that price difference is insane.
Hey Globe, here's a flash. They were low cost because they didn't put any money into maintenence or to hire qualified drivers. It's obvious, to anyone with any common sense, that if they conducted their business properly and safely, the costs would go up.
@richstan: I think you should read the article a little more carefully. They say exactly what you are accusing them of failing to say.
One bad aspect of Fung Wah's history is that they have helped lower the bar throughout the industry for drivers. If you knew what long distance bus drivers now make, you wouldn't ride a bus. It is barely more than a minimum wage job. But the responsibilities are enormous. If the pay were more commensurate with the fact that a driver has fifty people's lives in their hands, more qualified folks would take the job. But one cannot live decently on that kind of pay.
Yep, people got to remember ..... you don't get something for nothing in this world. And in this case, it's going to be an unqualified, overworked driver, poorly maintained busses. And don't cry for government regulation, because then you're infringing on private industry.... BWAH
What this shows is the need for faster and cheaper train service