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Published: June 16th 2008
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Being in Philly last weekend reminded me vastly of my love/hate relationship with the city. If there's one thing I hate more about Philadelphia than anywhere else in the world, it's the city's transportation on all levels. This includes public bus and rail, Amtrak, 76, and generally anywhere there is a veichle in the city. To sum it up..IT ALL BLOWS! However, no bigger Philly transportation nightmare occured than last year's mishap on the Chinatown bus. With summer travel season kicking into high gear, this should be a warning for all you low-frills travelers going up and down the east coast.
The main reason anyone would even consider taking a Chinatown bus is because it is dirt cheap. Far cheaper than taking a train, Greyhound bus, or driving. Literally, it's a $25 round trip from 30th Street in Philly to NYC's Penn Station. Why is it called the Chinatown bus you ask? Because most of the buses pickup and drop-off in their respective city's Chinatown. Back in February of last year, my friend Megan and I decided to go to the Syracuse/St. John's game up in NYC, and after some deliberation, it was decided that if we were going, we were taking the Chinatown bus. I was not very keen on the idea from the begining, but agreed to it anyways. Megan bought the tickets, which clearly instructed us to be at the pickup location near 30th street station around 9am that Sunday for a 9:30am departure. If you did not show up, there is a chance they will sell-off your seat. That's right, even if you have purchased a ticket, they will sell the seat. We got down to 30th street a little after 9am, and stood around in the cold looking for the bus. A few more riders showed up, but there was no sign of this bus at all. Around 9:20, Megan called the bus company, who stated that the bus was on its way. At exactly 9:30am, the bus pulls up to the pickup location near 30th Street. We all get on the bus and are ready to leave. However, we notice a problem with the front door. The driver is trying to open and shut the door every 5 seconds or so, as it seems there is an issue with the door shutting. We're delayed in our departure, but something still didn't feel right. Around 9:45, the bus took off as we headed for NYC. All of a sudden, the front door comes flying open as we're heading down 676, forcing the driver to pull over into the right lane and get off the highway. The whole time, the door is opening and closing back and forth, with cold gusts of wind filling the bus. Can you imagine driving a car behind this bus? I wouldn't be surprised if the bus ran off the road. The driver gets off the exit, and makes his way back to 30th Street station, with the door still opening and closing. At this time, the driver makes the announcement that we can either wait for a replacement bus, or we can get our money back. I told Megan that we should take the money and get on the train, as it would probably be quicker. Megan wasn't in agreeance, but once we stoped, I asked for a refund. One of the bus company people was there, and stated "No! No refunds! Take the next bus!" But you said we could get refunded, right? Obviously, the driver and boss were not in agreement. A lot of people just walked off the bus without getting refunded becasue they were so p**sed off. We stuck it out and waited for the second bus, which stunk due to smoking on board at one time and no cleaning. Also, the seats were rickey and uncomfortable, causing a bumpy ride the entire ride to NYC. Two hours later, we finally arrived at Penn Station, and were able to enjoy the game. However, we still had to take the bus back to Philly. Needless to say, I was not looking forward to this. We got on the bus, and once again, bumpy the entire ride home. I felt sick to my stomach, and felt like I was going to throw-up every 10 minutes. I couldn't rest or relax, I just sat in discomfort the entire ride home. Once we were back in Philly, I told Megan that I would never take the Chinatown bus again. It was just an absolutely miserable expierence, and not worth the low fare. Honestly, pay the extra money for a Greyhound ticket is you are dead-set on taking a bus, or take the train, or drive, or hike, or kayak, or anything! The Chinatown bus isn't worth the aggravation.
Until next time, safe travels not on the Chinatown bus
-Kacz
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Shara
non-member comment
Yeah
True, the Chinatown bus can be a nightmare, but it's not just Fung Wah and Lucky Star anymore. There's Bolt Bus, Megabus, Vamoose, DC2NY, and plenty of other high quality lines. A good place to compare their prices and amenities is www.busjunction.com.