This morning Greyhound announced that its discount Yo! Bus Service, offering service between New York and Chinatown, will begin operating December 18. Last month, Community Board 3 approved an application from the company for a bus stop on the west side of Pike Street, between East Broadway and Division Street. The Department of Transportation then made it official.
As you probably recall, the DOT was forced to back away from an earlier proposal to put the bus stop on Essex Street in front of Seward Park after residents, backed by elected officials, complained. Last week, members of Asian Americans for Equality asked the board to postpone the decision on the latest application, citing the prospect of large crowds and congestion outside their offices (located just across the street). But CB3 members said Greyhound had agreed to operating restrictions (crowd control agents, trash pick-up, anti-pollution devices) to alleviate the concerns. It’s a nine month permit; the community board will have the opportunity to review Yo! operations in six months.
One-way tickets, Greyhound says, will be as low as $12. “We’d like to thank the Chinatown community for welcoming YO!, which offers a safe and affordable new service for travelers who like the convenience and affordability of Chinatown bus lines,” Dave Leach, president and CEO of Greyhound, said in a press release. “Currently intercity bus service between Chinatown in New York and Philadelphia is in very high demand, so we are excited to offer customers a service that meets their travel needs, whether for work or visiting family and friends this holiday season.”
More from the news release:
In New York, YO! will operate on Pike Street between E. Broadway and Division on the median, where a staff member will be on site to guide the loading and unloading of customers. There also will be an assigned boarding system to ensure an orderly boarding process onto YO!’s high-efficiency, environmentally friendly buses. Tickets can be purchased at INT Travel Group, located at 98 E. Broadway. In Philadelphia, YO! will operate from Gate 14 at the Greyhound terminal, located at the corner of 1001 Filbert Street and 10th Street right next to Chinatown.
