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Chinatown Buses: NYC to Boston

Ever since Fung Wah and Lucky Star Buses have been shut down in Spring of 2013, I have been heartbroken.

For $15, or thereabouts, one could travel from Chinatown to Chinatown (NYC>Boston, NYC>Philly, NYC>Washington D.C., NYC> Baltimore and back!)  all along the East Coast.

But the government stepped in with their funny regulations and shut them down.  Here's some Spring coverage & history from NBC. Some August update from Bloomberg, the government wants to make sure the operators are "sincere" in their commitment to safety.  Hmm.

If you go online and find http://www.luckystarbus.com/  you'll find a Ghost Site.  An interface that looks like you could still order a ticket, but there is a funny message if you scroll down:
"Per the order of USDOT, Lucky Star Bus has temporary ceased operations.
All affected e-ticket customers will be receiving a refund automatically. Thanks!"

Oddly enough, if you hit the "Espanol" version, the message is NOT translated.  And the reserve function is NOT disabled.  (Although you will get a message: "No schedule found", but after the 2nd screen)

Even more oddly, there is NO message in Chinese.

Same story for Fung Wah Bus.

Alternatives include Greyhound, which bought Peter Pan and Trailways, but NEVER improved their quality and remained at least twice as expensive.  They still seem to be the symbol for a stodgy old-guard business that can maintain the slogan "My way or the highway", just because they cover less popular routes.  It costs more to go from New Haven, Connecticut to Boston ($45) than 3 one ways on the other lines!!

Gobuses.com  which is my current fave.  The biggest issue I had was BASIC.  And probably occurs for anyone else who has heard the name.  If you search for gobus.com, you get a CRAP site which LOOKS like a legit bus company, maybe even the one behind "gobus".  It offers a bunch of related links, and if you find a way to search the timetable, you will find the dreaded "No schedule found" message.  FAIL!

If you persist (usually by calling, which several fellow passengers resorted to) you'll get a surly operator who tries to encourage you through the clumsy web presence.  (When will they learn to save money by buying the other DOMAIN?)

Another plus for suburban travelers, they travel from Cambridge & Newton directly to NYC.  This  adds an extra hour (?) to the travel, but who's counting?  I don't have to go to South Station!  (Yay!!) It does let off right near Penn Station.  Convenient (Yay!)  But an ugly & crowded neighborhood (Boo!) Almost as bad as Port Authority, but at least it's curbside and not inside an ugly terminal (Yay!)

They get completely forgiven by me for one simple act of kindness.

At the Newton Stop, at the beginning of a trip to NYC, they give you a bottle of water.  <3

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