But which frills can be cut from a humble Greyhound? Bus stations, advertising, English-speaking staff and (occasionally) heated buses. Fares have also been kept low by fierce competition among the Chinatown lines. At times, perhaps, too fierce: New York police took 16 buses off the road last week for failing inspection, and are investigating whether the murders of two Chinatown bus employees and a spate of assaults are related to friction between rival companies. But customers don’t seem fazed. “I don’t know why anyone would take Greyhound,” says Dan Wong, a student from Broomhall, Pa., who’s ridden Chinatown buses all over the East Coast. “This is much cheaper.”
