HomeUploadUpload DirectHotlinkRandomAbouttheme toggle
Expand

The Feds vs. the Chinatown Bus: The Glorious Rebirth of Bus Travel & Why the Gov't May Ruin it Again

Views:1044
@ReasonVids

The long-distance busing industry was originally dominated by small scrappy companies competing fiercely to win over customers, only to become a government-protected cartel with declining ridership and all the competitive spirit of Ma Bell. A half-century later, busing returned to its glorious origins, but today it's in danger becoming a ward of the state once more.

In the 1910s, the very first American bus companies started picking up passengers on main streets all across America. There were few barriers to entry; entrepreneurs without much capital could buy or lease a motorcoach and then start doing regular pick-ups in front of a hotel or on a street corner.

Within a few years, local governments intervened to protect established companies from new competition. By 1925, most states required that bus companies apply for permission to service particular routes. The Motor Carrier Act of 1935 put the federal Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) in charge of regulating bus travel. The ICC did everything from set ticket prices to grant established companies the exclusive right to operate between certain cities.

Protected from competition, bus companies grew indifferent to the changing tastes of their customers. Americans relocated to the suburbs, while car and air travel exploded in popularity. As inner-city depots became dangerous and decrepit, bus companies failed to alter their business models. After World War II, U.S. bus travel fell by half in just a decade and then it kept declining.

The industry languished for the next half century. In 1982, President Reagan deregulated intercity bus travel, which cleared the way for new companies to get into the business and start fighting to win back passengers, but for the next decade and a half not much changed. Then in the late 1990s, a group of immigrants from Fujian Province, China reinvented the bus industry in New York City's Chinatown. These entrepreneurs brought busing back to its roots of picking up passengers right off the street instead of from a traditional station. (The Chinatown bus companies became known as curbside carriers.) Once again, pretty much all you needed to start a bus company was a bus.

The Chinatown operators also figured out a way to win over customers that had eluded the established carriers for decades: charge really low prices. In short order, companies like Greyhound, Peter Pan, and Coach USA started opening their own curbside services, and today intercity busing is the fastest growing form of intercity transit in the U.S.

Today, history is repeating itself. An onslaught of new safety rules are forcing many small bus operations out of business, allowing the corporate carriers to grab more market share. On May 31, 2012, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration shutdown 26 bus companies in a single day, and since then it has forced an additional 15 closures.

For a case study of the government's incompetence at regulating motorcoach travel, read "Why the Government Was Wrong to Shutdown Fung Wah Bus Company:"
http://reason.com/archives/2013/07/16/why-the-government-was-wrong-to-shutdown

Over-regulating bus lines actually makes passengers quite a bit less safe. Since all the shutdowns, ticket prices have spiked considerably. This means fewer people will be enticed to take the bus and leave their cars at home. Because buses are orders of magnitude safer than cars, travelers are far more likely to die on the highway.

Hosted by Naomi Brockwell. Written, shot, and edited by Jim Epstein.

About 9 minutes.

Go to http://Reason.tv for downloadable versions and subscribe to Reason TV's YouTube Channel to receive automatic updates when new material goes live.

bus
,
bus industry
,
chinatown bus
,
federal motor carrier safety administration
,
transportation
,
fung wah
,
greyhound
,
libertarian
,
libertarianism
,
reason tv
,
reason magazine
,
naomi brockwell
,
chinatown bus lines (mass transportation system)
,
reason (periodical)
    Thumbnail for FBI Surveils Bikini Baristas, Officer Busted in Sex Sting! Don't Cops Have Better Things to Do!1:57
    FBI Surveils Bikini Baristas, Officer Busted in Sex Sting! Don't Cops Have Better Things to Do!
    ReasonVids
    1038 views
    Thumbnail for WHAT I ATE TODAY PART 16 | Karissa Stevens0:54
    WHAT I ATE TODAY PART 16 | Karissa Stevens
    invidious
    103 views
    Thumbnail for On live TV poll workers throwing away Trump votes0:26
    On live TV poll workers throwing away Trump votes
    bestofnab
    2658 views
    Thumbnail for G Done vs Karakuri Hei - M.U.G.E.N1:49
    G Done vs Karakuri Hei - M.U.G.E.N
    memology101
    1130 views
    Thumbnail for When the S.H.T.F. and It's Time to G.T.F.O. | Live From The Lair25:49
    When the S.H.T.F. and It's Time to G.T.F.O. | Live From The Lair
    Terrence Popp
    2124 views
    Thumbnail for Reason-Rupe Poll: 96% Fear Federal Debt, 74% Want Spending Cap, & More6:37
    Reason-Rupe Poll: 96% Fear Federal Debt, 74% Want Spending Cap, & More
    ReasonVids
    959 views
    Thumbnail for Elvis Presley - Mystery Train1:00
    Elvis Presley - Mystery Train
    bestofupgoat
    210 views
    Thumbnail for Dr. Doom vs War Machine - MUGEN (Gameplay) S1 • E41:00
    Dr. Doom vs War Machine - MUGEN (Gameplay) S1 • E4
    memology101
    1235 views
    Thumbnail for Families Ask the Supreme Court to Stop Discrimination Against Religious Schools13:55
    Families Ask the Supreme Court to Stop Discrimination Against Religious Schools
    ReasonVids
    855 views
    Thumbnail for Peter Bagge on Comics, Politics, and His New Book "Reset"8:45
    Peter Bagge on Comics, Politics, and His New Book "Reset"
    ReasonVids
    978 views
    Thumbnail for Vegito (Super Saiyan 3) vs Gogeta (Super Saiyan God) - MUGEN (Gameplay) S2 • E344:17
    Vegito (Super Saiyan 3) vs Gogeta (Super Saiyan God) - MUGEN (Gameplay) S2 • E34
    memology101
    1333 views
    Thumbnail for ‘I didn’t realize people still think socialism is a good idea.’14:25
    ‘I didn’t realize people still think socialism is a good idea.’
    ReasonVids
    883 views
    Thumbnail for Wolves v Newcastle United | Matchday Live! | The Toon Review2:43:19
    Wolves v Newcastle United | Matchday Live! | The Toon Review
    invidious
    205 views
    Thumbnail for Is this what they meant by 'Russian Disinformation'??0:31
    Is this what they meant by 'Russian Disinformation'??
    bestofupgoat
    144 views
    Thumbnail for Ya can't even trust cartoons these days. SAD!0:10
    Ya can't even trust cartoons these days. SAD!
    bestofupgoat
    121 views
    Thumbnail for Tortured for Testimony: Anarchists Get Solitary Confinement for Not Snitching7:10
    Tortured for Testimony: Anarchists Get Solitary Confinement for Not Snitching
    ReasonVids
    1829 views
    Thumbnail for Wall Street Journal's Stephen Moore on the 2012 Election5:46
    Wall Street Journal's Stephen Moore on the 2012 Election
    ReasonVids
    911 views
    Thumbnail for 3 Great Reasons to Pay Your Taxes (or Else)!1:35
    3 Great Reasons to Pay Your Taxes (or Else)!
    ReasonVids
    847 views
    Thumbnail for 4 Takeaways from SCOTUS Gay Marriage Ruling1:13
    4 Takeaways from SCOTUS Gay Marriage Ruling
    ReasonVids
    890 views
    Thumbnail for Gypsy Crusader goes to Jeffrey Epstein's Manhattan Mansion11:26
    Gypsy Crusader goes to Jeffrey Epstein's Manhattan Mansion
    bestofpoal
    1324 views
    Thumbnail for Venge.io10:00
    Venge.io
    stumble_bro
    372 views
    Thumbnail for The 5 Most Anti-Libertarian TV Shows Ever!3:44
    The 5 Most Anti-Libertarian TV Shows Ever!
    ReasonVids
    928 views
    Thumbnail for Are We Broke Yet? Michael Moore Says No, Reality Begs to Differ1:37
    Are We Broke Yet? Michael Moore Says No, Reality Begs to Differ
    ReasonVids
    824 views
    Thumbnail for PCB Creation for Beginners - Start to finish tutorial in 10 minutes | The Hook Up10:40
    PCB Creation for Beginners - Start to finish tutorial in 10 minutes | The Hook Up
    invidious
    285 views
    Thumbnail for GAMING TIME | TenZ5:16:20
    GAMING TIME | TenZ
    invidious
    53 views

points

Permalink
Reply
bus
,
bus industry
,
chinatown bus
,
federal motor carrier safety administration
,
transportation
,
fung wah
,
greyhound
,
libertarian
,
libertarianism
,
reason tv
,
reason magazine
,
naomi brockwell
,
chinatown bus lines (mass transportation system)
,
reason (periodical)
TOS  •  Add Keywords  •  Donate  •   Analytics  •   DMCA  •   Puzzle