By:Indhira Benitez
As a NYC native now residing in Boston, I often find myself looking for
the more "economically efficient" alternatives to traveling
back home. For $30, Fung Wah has offered me a quick and almost always
reliable trip back into the big apple when all other bus companies have
been booked. In an effort to avoid any bias with this article, let me
start of by saying that I have read numerous reviews prior to booking
Fung Wah, and despite the outrage of its patrons on its efficiency, safety,
and basic accommodations, I decided to play Russian roulette with my traveling
experience. I must either be really lucky, or perhaps the Fung Wah bus
operators knew I would someday be writing this article, but I have not
had one negative experience to date. And yes, there have been times I
question how safely I am getting to my destination when my trip is significantly
cut 30-45 minutes, but why would I complain? If I can get to my parents
and my dog a half hour early, I frankly do not care how safe my bus ride is.
Unfortunately for Fung Wah, my opinion on their speedy services did not
mean much to the state Department of Public Utilities or the Federal Motor
Carrier Safety Administration. This past week, the Fung Wah bus company
has taken almost its entire fleet off the road following inspections by
the state Department of Public Utilities that found structural cracks
in several of the company's buses.
The frame cracks, located in the drive axle, rear axle, engine cradle, and other locations, posed serious safety issues, said Ann Berwick, chairwoman of the utilities department. The DPU asked Fung Wah to pull 21 of its 28 buses from the road and has referred the matter to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
"We're recommending that they deem this to be an imminent hazard,
which would mean that they would shut down the company until the problems
were addressed," Berwick said.
Fung Wah voluntarily took the buses out of service Saturday evening and
started running charter buses in their place, reducing its service between
Boston and New York from every half hour to every hour, said Stephen Squibb,
manager of South Station, where Fung Wah operates.
The DPU has never pulled this many buses out of service, which could be
very detrimental to their business, but most importantly, people like
myself who faithfully depend on Fung Wah's modernized and adult version
of the magic school bus. Fung Wah officials decline to comment. Until
things get cleared up for Fung Wah, guess it's back to Mega Bus folks!
