New Chinatown Bus Rules Signed Into Law (NY State)

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New Chinatown Bus Rules Signed Into Law (NY State)
Posted by Gold_12TH on Sun Aug 19 14:33:45 2012 edf40wrjww2msgDetailB:detailStr fiogf49gjkf0d Chinatown buses will soon face new regulations, thanks to a law Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed Friday in response to back-to-back bus crashes that left 17 people dead last year. Under the law, all intercity bus companies, including those based in Chinatown, will have to apply for permits and will only be allowed to park in bus stops that are designated with community input, officials said. For the first time, the bus companies will also have to disclose information about their fleet, including schedules, where the buses park during layovers, the number and type of buses and the number of passengers each bus can carry. Any buses that violate the new regulations will face fines of up to $2,500. "This new law will help bring much needed oversight to the intercity bus industry and will help improve the quality of life for my Chinatown constituents, as well as residents across the city who face the dangers and inconvenience of buses idling and blocking intersections," Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who co-sponsored the bill with State Sen. Daniel Squadron, said in a statement. "This permit system will help make the intercity bus experience more reliable and safer for passengers," Silver continued, "and it will help responsible bus operators by establishing clear rules and improving communications with the surrounding community." Low-cost, intercity buses companies, many operating out of Chinatown, have been involved in a spate of accidents in the past 18 months, including a March 2011 crash that left 15 people dead when a Chinatown-bound bus flipped over in The Bronx. Two months later, the federal government shut down 26 bus lines running through Chinatown. The new law will help the city keep a closer eye on the buses, and it will also allow local community boards to have a say in bus stop locations, officials said. An estimated 6 million people ride low-fare, intercity buses up and down the East Coast each year. ---http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20120817/chinatown/new-chinatown-bus-rules-signed-into-law#ixzz241Cb8LlU
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Re: New Chinatown Bus Rules Signed Into Law (NY State)
Posted by JAzumah* on Sun Aug 19 19:28:02 2012, in response to New Chinatown Bus Rules Signed Into Law (NY State), posted by Gold_12TH on Sun Aug 19 14:33:45 2012.* edf40wrjww2msgDetailB:detailStr fiogf49gjkf0d Let me say this as clearly as I can say this: This bill is in violation of federal law because it is now regulating interstate commerce. I would recommend that the New York State Legislature begin acquiring Vaseline (not with taxpayer funds!) because they are going to need it. Under federal law, all companies with interstate operating licenses ALREADY have permission to serve New York City. That means that bus companies DO NOT need a permit to stop here. The city needs to accommodate their requested stopping zones (notice the word "zones" - everyone can't use the same corner). As it stands today, Megabus has been sent to a location that puts them at a disadvantage with every single interstate bus competitor. Bolt, Go Buses, Vamoose, Greyhound, Peter Pan, and Amtrak all have better locations than Megabus. You have to walk by all of the competition to get to Megabus. Megabus has a potential lawsuit RIGHT NOW if they wanted to pursue this. I'm not saying that I would never take the opportunity to fight Megabus, but let us be fair here. This situation is a preview of what will happen under a permit system. Curbside buses will be sited AWAY from the people they are designed to serve. The older or politically connected companies will get the best spots and companies like mine would be told that the only midtown pickup available is 60 Street & 11 Avenue. How does that not impact a carrier's business? What happens if you actually grow to be really large? Are you going to be exiled to the Far West Side? What if Vamoose grows to the size of Bolt's DC operation? Is Vamoose going to be sent away too?
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Re: New Chinatown Bus Rules Signed Into Law (NY State)
Posted by NIMBYkiller* on Sun Aug 19 22:06:16 2012, in response to New Chinatown Bus Rules Signed Into Law (NY State), posted by Gold_12TH on Sun Aug 19 14:33:45 2012.* edf40wrjww2msgDetailB:detailStr fiogf49gjkf0d I'm all for passenger safety, but this is way over the top. It's downright oppressive! Say a company is completely sold out and wants to hire a rental to carry additional capacity, now they won't be able to do that (Greyhound does this several times a month) without trying to get a last minute permit from the city. Bureaucracy being what it is, we all know permits are going to take multiple days. What about companies who don't actually own buses, but contract their operations out to different carriers? This law is absolutely absurd and horribly thought out. It completely ignores the reality of the industry that it is trying to regulate! My company runs into Manhattan on Fridays and out on Sundays. Am I now required to apply for a permit?
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