Monday, July 16, 2012

Crackdown on illegal Main Street buses


From the NY Times:

More than two weeks after large buses started competing with vans for passengers traveling between Chinatown and Flushing, Queens, city enforcement officials began a crackdown this week that resulted in the towing of several buses and the levying of fines.

The departure of the big buses was as abrupt and dramatic as their arrival, 18 days ago, which touched off tensions along the commuter van route, including a price war, screaming matches and a smattering of violence.

City officials and the police arrived Thursday at the two main stops – 41st Avenue in Flushing and Division Street in downtown Manhattan – and shut down the operations of the large buses, which were charging $1 for a one-way ride between the Chinatowns in Queens and Manhattan, compared with $2.75 that the smaller vehicles had been charging.

Faced with losing riders, many vans, which typically have less than half of the 57-passenger capacity of the buses, dropped their prices to $1 as well. Other drivers simply stopped operating.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

If your bus would just go to Newark or Hoboken from Flushing, then you can get a license from the federal Surface Transportation Board (because it is interstate commerce) and the city won't be able to do anything about it.

Anonymous said...

one wonders if the asian politicians ,meng ,koo,liu who are paid by the taxpayers , have a comment about these asian bus companies taking revenue away from the NYC M.T.A.? who are UNION EXTORTIONISTS supporting these politicians with votes and donations

it seems that the asian bus companies believe in the FREE MARKET -SUPPLY AND DEMAND....

true CAPITALISTS

Anonymous said...

Alternative title: "Clear Example of Government Regulation Stifling Competition and Increasing Cost of Living on Citizens"

Anonymous said...

Please have someone come to Maspeth and Elmhurst to crack down on the illegal buses on Calamus Avenue. They won't pick you up unless you are Asian. This has been going on for years, yet nothing is done about it. Someone is getting paid off.

Anonymous said...

How about the illegal buses trolling the bus stops of the Q47 poaching all the riders (Asian only please)?

Why do they discriminate by not including non-Asian rider? No one does anything about that - where are the authorities questioning that?

Anonymous said...

Anon No. 2:

Than entitles the "Asian Bus Companies" to operate illegally?

Anonymous said...

did not the legislators write the laws to favor the transportation unions ,who pay their forced dues back to the legislators, at election time ?

is not this legal crony capitalism for the favored ?

the public be damned,the jerks will always pay more tax and increased fares.

lower fares will sustain all of the 22 million U.S travelers ,who are unemployed and underemployed .

the 8.2% to 15% in nyc will take the lowest fare, they have to , during a socialist 3.5 year depression

Anonymous said...

The laws are written to protect the riding public - you know, basic stuff, like the buses must be properly maintained, the drivers need to be qualified, they buses can only operate on certain streets and stop in certain stops. In other words, safely. Does anyone like the way that the "Asian Bus Operators" operate right now? Is not this a state of anarchy?

Anonymous said...

Let me try and understand this. The illegal whorehouses are okay, the illegal gambling places are okay, the illegal human smuggling is okay, the illegal asian gangs are okay, but the illegal buses aren't.
Things like this, really make you laugh. What cesspool.

Anonymous said...

I wonder how much the van drivers paid Jeffrey E. Singer to write this article because the first article I know, each driver on that route paid him $300. You do the math.