One day after graduated college, my friend from Florida called me and said that he would be in New York City. A jobless recent college grad living in the Philadelphia area, I just could not imagine spending almost fifty dollars roundtrip on the Greyhound to visit my friend for one day. Hower, since I could not disappoint my friend, I decided to use my resources and initiative. I got on google and searched for “Cheap bus from Philly to New York City.” I found a jewel, the Chinese bus.
The Chinese bus is the proper name for this type of bus. It should not be considered unpolitically correct because the phrase is exactly what shows up in the search engines. There are several companies under the group “chinese bus” and these companies are located in several cities on the East Coast. These bus company’s go by other names such as Apex bus, Fung Wah, New Century Travel, Dragon Coach, Washington Deluxe, and Today’s Bus. I am a frequent rider of New Century Travel.
For just $12.00 I can get on a bus in the Chinatown in Philadelphia and go to the Chinatown in New York City. The buses typically go from Chinatown to Chinatown. You can catch a bus from DC to New York, from Boston to New York City and other places for a very cheap price. The buses are very comfortable, an the ride is comparable to the Grey Hound Bus.
I’m not sure how Greyhound in Philadelphia is able to compete with such great prices considering that their station is literally across the street from New Century Travel. Greyhound is probably able to stay afloat because not many people know about this cheap ride between New York City and Philadelphia. Well, now you know so get on the bus.
Hospitality on the buses is what is best about New Century Travel and other Chinese buses. The driver does leave on time, however sometimes he waits just a few minutes until all of the seats are pretty much filled before he pulls off. Therefore, if you are running a bit late, just put your sneakers to the pavement and you are likely to be able to catch a bus just before it pulls off.
On New Century Travel, tickets are 12.00 one way. If you buy a round trip ticket, the price is 20.00. Therefore, you save two dollars. There may be some perks to buying a one way ticket. You will find that you will have a great experience when you make your way back to East Broadway in New York City to take the bus back to where you came from. As you head to your bus, you will see people trying to get your attention while waving tickets in their hands. “Where are you going?” They will ask. Tell them, and they wtll direct you to the next bus that is departing. The thing is, more than one Chinese bus company is in each of the cities that I mentioned. When you head down East Broadway, you will meet the competition that is hoping you only bought a one way ticket into New York City and now they can get you to buy one of their tickets out.
The competitors are not aggressive or mean. In fact, they have bright smiles on their faces when they ask you where you are going. It’s quite a welcome and may work in your favor if you are trying to leave at a time that is not offered by the original bus company you bought your one-way ticket from. There are many times available for these buses to get you to and from New York City, however sometimes it’s good to have choices.
Next time you want to go New York City on a shoestring budget, just google “Chinese Bus.” You will get many possibilities for making your trip comfortable and affordable.
