Discount buses pose an idle threat
A private bus idles near a MTA bus stop on the corner of Allen and Canal streets last Thursday. (Alana Abel for amNY)
Discount bus companies are doing more than offering a cheap ride out of town—they are also clogging already congested streets, blocking city bus stops and idling too long, an amNewYork survey found.
More than a dozen buses were found parked in city bus stops, in front of fire hydrants or in the middle of traffic during less than a day’s time. Two buses were found idling longer than the legal three-minute limit, with one empty bus running its engine for about 30 minutes.
On a recent afternoon, one private bus in Chinatown blocked three M15 city buses from pulling into a city bus stop at Division Street and caused a man who uses a wheelchair to enter the street to reach the bus ramp. The bus received two traffic tickets.
“They park all over, all the time,” said Lenny Urban, 53, an M15 bus passenger, of the discount bus lines that sometimes exacerbate his breathing problems with long idling. “Sometimes they interfere with the city buses. They do that all the time.”
Intercity bus travel is growing at the fastest rate in more than 40 years, especially with recent growth in the discount bus lines, according to a recent DePaul University study. In the city, that growth is apparent on already congested city streets in Chinatown and midtown, leaving officials struggling for solutions. There are at least 15 companies offering discount bus service in the city.
“It’s totally out of control and it’s only gong to get worse,” said City Councilman Alan Gerson (D-Manhattan), who represents Chinatown and whose office is continually contacted about bus issues. “It not only detracts from the quality of life it’s hazardous. We have more long-distance bus passengers in the Chinatown area than in midtown at the Port Authority.”
Gerson said there isn’t a management plan for buses in lower Manhattan, adding to the problem. He will be meeting with the city transportation department soon to discuss the problem in Chinatown.
Recently, police kicked a few companies out of an area near the Manhattan Bridge that the transportation department for a decade had designated for 30-minute layovers. Gerson’s office was told the companies were parking more buses than police allowed.
Buses from the three companies that used to park there were observed loading, unloading and parking in city bus stops.
“It’s terrible,” said David Wang, owner of Eastern Travel, who said his company received 40 traffic violations in just two weeks. “We try talk to [the local police inspector] several times, and he don’t let us meet with him to talk. If he needs us to do something, we do it.”
The other two companies did not respond to requests for comment. Police did not comment on the recent removal of buses from the layover area, but said that residents have been upset about the buses there for a long time.
Two community boards that represent the Chinatown area said there needs to be more enforcement of traffic and idling laws, and a centralized area where buses could layover would make such efforts easier. Community Board 3 held a hearing on designating one permanent area to control and regulate the buses, but two suggested locations couldn’t pass public scrutiny.
But even with designated areas, the private buses sometimes park in places they are not supposed to. A Bolt bus was recently found blocking a city bus stop on 34th Street while another one unloaded passengers while double-parked in a traffic lane next to the company’s designated spot further down the block.
A representative for the company, a division of Greyhound, could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Despite causing some congestion problems, the companies’ popularity is hailed by some New Yorkers.
“For the poor people, their prices are very reasonable,” said Phil Stapleton, who works at Bondy Camera and Appliances in Chinatown, which is next to a private bus company. “In these times, everyone wants to save a penny.”
Alex Clark, 34, who’s lived in Chinatown for seven years, agreed, despite more buses whose passengers clog sidewalks outside his home.
“It’s a little bit worse, but whatever, people have to get to places,” Clark said. “It’s the price you pay in New York City.”
***
Idle threats
amNewYork found the following problems with discount buses. Attempts to reach these companies for comment were unsuccessful.
An Apex bus parked in front of a hydrant on Allen Street for at least 10 minutes on Wednesday.
One New Century bus idled in front of an East Broadway post office for nine minutes without loading passengers.
An unmarked white bus parked for about 10 minutes on Wednesday at an M9 bus stop on East Broadway, blocking one city bus.
Two New Century buses parked at an M9 bus stop on East Broadway on Wednesday, blocking one bus from the curb. One bus idled for more than 30 minutes without loading passengers.
-- Marlene Naanes
Comments (5)
It is unfortunate that City Councilman Alan Gerson seems more interested in representing the business of Port Authority over his own Chinatown constituency. I am a long-time rider of discount buses, predominantly in Chinatown, because other bus options out of Port Authority, particularly Greyhound, do not satisfy my transportation needs. Lines are long, and tickets are expensive and not guaranteed unless you resort to formalized bribery, "seat reservation fares".
Chinatown buses offer competitive prices and numerous departure opportunities (miss your bus, just wait 30 minutes for the next one) and ultimately offer passengers a way out of the mundane, bureaucracy-laden Greyhound offices. How many of you have nearly missed your buses waiting in line at the Peter Pan ticketing office for someone to get off the phone of stop chatting with their neighbor? Customer service in Chinatown is prompt, if for no other reason because the competition is stiff, and prompt attention means an immediate sale.
I have watched Chinatown bus companies respond to council demands in the past year- mainly moving their buses to other streets in response to idling laws. Mr. Wang of Eastern Travel is correct, bus companies are quick to respond to police demands. As for private companies causing "threats" - I believe the only real threat they are causing is to big business interests that are losing money because Chinatown is increasingly drawing their customer base away, and for good reason too - Chinatown lines are overall offering a better, cheaper product.
Instead of bullying the little guy with council members, maybe it's up to bigger business bus companies to offer better, more affordable service at Port Authority.
Please take that message back to your board, Alan Gerson
It's a wonderful thing that these discount bus companies are able to provide service to the many New Yorkers who can't afford the prices of companies like Greyhound and Peter Pan. These companies also take less time and money to get to their destinations then their more expensive counterparts. Maybe the higher priced bus companies are upset that these Chinatown buses are taking away their business. I remember paying for a Greyhound ticket a couple of years ago around Thanksgiving and I could not get on the bus because Greyhound over-booked the bus (something they do very often).
It's also not right that these same companies continue to idle, block bus stops, fire hydrants and traffic. If these companies break the law in that manner then they should receive fines and summonses. New York is an over-crowded town in the first place.
If there can be some kind of compromise with the city and the discount bus companies in which the buses can pick up passengers in specific areas that don't block bus stops, fire hydrants and traffic, then that would be a better solution for everyone. To even consider taking away these bus companies is not in the best decision.
These so called "discount buses" that are running amok in Manhattan are a danger to all who are near them. The other issue that needs to be tackled are the City Sights tour buses that have taken over the Times Square are on both Broadway/7th avenues and in the bus stops on 7th avenue and 42nd street (really bad) as well as 8th avenue and 42nd street.
On 8th and 42 they have a Woodbury Commons bus that parks there in the morning from 7:30-45 until 9:30 when it leaves for the day. The other morning the driver was so desperate to park in the Muni Meter spot for loading that he mounted the sidewalk by about 6 to 8 feet with the front right tire on the subway grate. People walking by were running away from being hit by the bus.
Yesterday morning 10/31 the man who controls these buses was stopping commercial vehicles from parking at the muni meter spots because he needed to park the bus there. He even tried to stop an NYC DOT vehicle from parking there. This has been going on for a while. I have even seen M27 buses double parked in the street because the stop is taken up by double decker buses blocking the bus stop.
Seems everyone likes the cheap price given the times we live in right now. But what if it's your neighborhood, your sidewalk, your front door?? I have these buses parked smack dab in front of my apartment building entrance for months now and even taking over 3 parking spots on the adjacent block. What I get is the constant dodging of luggage/trash/smokers/loiterers whenever I exit or enter my building. When the weather gets crappy, they try to enter my building or clog the bus shelter which is for the M15 buses. Numerous contacts with 311 or resulted in the one weekend without hassle. It's nice that they provide a service, but not on MY FRONT DOOR. Thanks Eastern Bus for generating the pollution from your idling buses that flows though my open windows. Thanks for blocking the bike lanes so we swerve into traffic to go around your bus that takes up 3 parking spaces. Thanks for the constant strangers that hang around my doorstep smoking and littering. I am at the end of my rope and now consider moving out of my home for over 30 years.
It's not just in Chinatown; DEP can easily find buses occupied only by the driver, parked and idling for well over 1/2 hour on Charlton St. just off the West Side Highway.
These are commuter buses, almost all from PA. They flagrantly defy the idling limit, even in nice weather. Getting in touch with their supposed business HQs is well nigh impossible.