How Chinatown Buses Survived Competition, Regulation, and the Occasional Gang War
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Next month, New York City will start fining the intercity carriers known colloquially as Chinatown buses for operating without permits or making stops outside of sanctioned areas, the local news site DNAinfo reports.
The uninitiated may ask: If the buses are unlicensed, why are they only being fined now? (Short answer: It’s a relatively new law.) For those who know the stories of the Fung Wah, Lucky Star, or the dozens of other low-cost, no-frills bus services that have shuttled among Northeastern cities over the past 15 years, a better question may be: How did they withstand price wars, gang wars, larger competitors, and waves of regulation to continue to exist today?