'Chinatown Buses': What You Need to Know

A Fung Wah replacement bus was sent to pick up uninjured passengers from the recent wreckage outside Boston. But state troopers instead called a Peter Pan bus, according to the Boston Globe, because Fung Wah's replacement driver didn't speak English and his logbook was falsified.

Fung Wah has a "satisfactory" rating from FMCSA. Grossman said that despite problems, Fung Wah's "overall operations are in compliance with federal regulations." Last week, Fung Wah signed a consent order agreeing to allow its buses to be inspected every 90 days, and promising not to use drivers who don't read and speak English.

FMCSA used to post the safety evaluation scores that make up an overall rating at its Web site, but the data have been removed while officials work to improve their timeliness and accuracy. But Schumer's office collected those data last year on Fung Wah and two other curbside companies -- data that raise serious questions.

The data on driver safety show that Greyhound, in business since 1914, had a driver safety score of 22 out of 100 (the lower the number, the better). Fung Wah: 73. Dragon Coach: 74. New Century: 97. They did better on vehicle safety inspections (Greyhound: 16. Dragon Coach: 27. Fung Wah: 9. New Century: 43). But all three curbside operators got bad marks for "safety management." Greyhound: 0. Fung Wah: 71. Dragon Coach: 99. New Century: 92.

Fung Wah declined comment. "We aren't going to speak to any reporters," said a woman who answered the telephone at the company and would not give her name.

At New Century Travel, a man who would identify himself only as Jimmy said, "We're the best bus company." Asked why New Century got a "conditional" rating from federal regulators, he said, "I can't say anything about that. Some people complain about nothing." He agreed to give the owner a message, but the owner did not return that call or two others.

Dragon Coach did not return three telephone messages seeking comment.

Safety and Maintenance

The curbside companies seem to operate with virtual impunity, complained Bob Schwarz, a vice president at competitor Peter Pan Bus Lines, in business since 1933. His firm has sued FMCSA for failing to enforce the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements governing transportation of the disabled, such as having a wheelchair lift available if requested 48 hours in advance.

Asked if a bus with a wheelchair lift could be arranged four days hence, two of four curbside lines called by a reporter said they'd try to switch buses around. Two said they could not provide the lifts. "We don't have those," said an agent at New Century. (Greyhound has special toll-free lines for travelers with disabilities. Greyhound and Peter Pan agents told a reporter that they could arrange lifts.)

Fung Wah President Pei Lin Liang, in testimony before a congressional subcommittee this year, addressed the ADA issue by saying that "wheelchair accessible buses are expensive."

"If a company says point-blank that they don't want to comply with ADA laws because they're too expensive, what does that say about their possible handling of the expense of hiring competent drivers and maintaining buses?" Schwarz asked.

David Wang, co-owner of Eastern Travel and Tour, said he too worries about some of the other curbside operators. Their problems, he said, reflect badly on his company.