News broke a short time ago that the feds are shutting down the Fung Wah bus company due to safety concerns. The U.S. Department of Transportation issued the order instructing the Chinatown carrier to “immediately cease passenger service and provide its entire fleet of 28 motorcoaches for thorough and detailed safety inspections by qualified inspectors.” The move was prompted by a request from the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities.
We noticed this Fung Wah bus pulling up just past Fung Wah headquarters in Chinatown at about noon today. The offices are located at 139 Canal. This bus stopped to let off passengers on the Bowery. Another bus with the name “Omega Express” out of Brooklyn was loading passengers right in front of Fung Wah’s offices.
According to news reports, the company agreed to take 21 out of 28 buses in its fleet off the road yesterday after Massachusetts regulators found serious structural problems on buses, including cracked frames. Fung Wah buses has been cited for 159 maintenance violations in the past two years, the Boston Globe reported. In January two pedestrians were struck by a Fung Wah bus near the Manhattan Bridge.
The carrier was the first bus carrier to begin offering discount fares a decade ago. The company offers hourly departures and arrivals between Boston and New York City.
Good riddance. I hope they close all of those chinatown bus companies. The drivers are menaces and the stations are loitering spots.
How crazy is this? As of 10:30 pm tonight Fung Wah is still selling tickets for its usual full schedule ! Are the planning to just rip people off?
Get a photo!
What photo? They were/are still selling tickets on their website
Shall this company and other Chinatown bus companies continue to flaunt the Law? They are ordered to shutdown and they still operate? Unacceptable!
I think they were ordered to take their fleet off the road. I don’t think they were prohibited from chartering third party buses to transport their customers.