The State Wants to Temporarily Shut Down Fung Wah

After the Chinatown bus to New York failed inspections, the state has some ... concerns.

fungwah

Image Credit: Filippo Diotalevi via Flickr

The state’s Department of Public Utilities wants the federal Department of Transportation to shut down the popular Fung Wah bus company, which runs cheap trips from South Station in Boston to New York’s Chinatown, after regulators asked the company to remove 21 of its 28 buses for safety issues, according to Fox Boston.

The $15 tickets and sheer volume of buses Fung Wah sends to New York and back each day make it a pretty attractive option for the budget-conscious traveler, but its rather sorry reputation for accidents and lax safety standards also make it the bus line you’re probably best not telling your mom that you take.

Sure to add to the list of mom’s concerns is that, according to Metro Boston, DPU says it did a surprise inspection of nine buses in February and found eight of them had cracks in their frames. They asked the company to remove all buses made before 2005, and the company complied on Saturday, replacing them with coach buses and reducing the number of trips, reports the Globe. Now, they’d like the feds to declare an “imminent hazard” and temporarily shut down the company.

Suddenly the Bolt Bus isn’t looking so pricy, anymore, is it?