I for one will write a eulogy for Fung Wah because I enjoyed it and read around some articles that interest me so much of its rise. I cannot help by feel amused by its rise, because it was a rise I don't think the major bus lines expected as they would have not allowed it if they knew. It seems even Fung Wah never expected to become what it did. Please correct me as my information is based from what I pieced from other articles talking about it over the years. Considering it is not from Fung Wah itself and was not personally there from its rise (being too young when it started), I might be wrong.
Fung Wah never meant to became what it was. It never meant to become the line that shuttled thousands a day with a fleet of 28 buses. Fung Wah's rise is ironically fitting to its public reputation- an accident. When it was first started in 1996, its founder, Pei Lin Liang, was a van driver in New York City driving around other Chinese workers. Back then, the cheapest way to between NYC and Boston was the bus - but run at a duopoly price of 60 dollars one way(or at least $70 round trip in 2005 - not sure of the 1996 claim).
Meanwhile, Liang kept getting asked by his customer if he can make a trip to Boston. Between the Chinatowns, there was plenty of demand to travel to the two communities and plenty of his customers had children who wanted a ride home to visit family. So at first, it started as a compensated ride of favors. Then it evolved to a regular trip. Which then became a small fleet of vans. Which then became a fleet of larger vans. Then it became busses. Then finally caught the full attention of the public increasingly utilized by all types of people. I find it amusing that it started a little shuttle carrying people who would not be able to afford to make the trip in any other way, to a system where the first riders felt like interlopers (per blogs about Fung Wah back in 2006), to a ride utilized by just about everybody with only a few Asians towards the end.
I must speculate that if there was no the accident of starting as a cultural connection service, I suspect it would have long been squashed before it gain the mind-space that it reach. I based this thinking as Peter Pan was not above this type of action as they alerted the state and used litigation to shut down an informal van shuttle service led by students looking a cheaper ride home back to Boston. And I must imagine there's plenty of regulation that can be used against any startup for NYC-Bos corridor if it can be used against a small corridor such as a service to Amherst.
However, it seems this run have finally come to an end. Perhaps it is for the best. While it is true that looking up historical news, Fung Wah's serious news of accidents ended in 2007 (unless you count a dump truck driving to a Fung Wah bus somehow their fault). A check on Wikipedia even noted an article a lack of 2 years of accidents to the Feds in December 2011. Yet, it also unignorable of the claim of cracked frames, lowest driver safety ratings, and alleged lack of co-operation. Perhaps the state have come in just in time to stop a bus from splitting in half and killing half its occupants.
However, its impact cannot be ignored. It is true that plenty of other drivers started their own informal to semi-formal service providing the ride between Boston and New York City. It is also true many measured their service against Fung Wah as the giant shuttle in the two Chinatowns. If it was not for Fung Wah, Lucky Star might have never rose its first real rival offering the same service at the same price as an upstart to the established Fung Wah power. The concept of the Chinatown Bus might have never rose beyond informal rides between friends and family to offer a low-price alternative between cities. All of a sudden, Peter Pan and Greyhound actually face real competition. It seems unlike this was intentional in letting such low-cost competition rise so naturally. It seems oddly coincidental Greyhound and Peter Pan got in the game - though not with their own brands but through BoltBus and only in 2008 years after the Chinatown Buses reach the public sphere. So regardless of what to make of this bus, I for one say Thank You. If not for providing competition and change, then for all the amusing conversation between friends about taking the ride, rides that I have taken with no complaints, and the pleasure of reaching the destination with the least time spent to make it.
It was a fun ride.
