Aw man. More bad news for folks who like their bus trips fast, cheap and dangerous... Not long after Fung Wah met its untimely end, we get the news that Lucky Star is the latest discount Chinatown bus line to get shut down by the feds: Feds Shut Down Lucky Star Bus Due To Safety Hazards, Giant Holes.
According to the Department of Transportation, Lucky Star "fails to ensure that its motor coaches are systematically and properly inspected, repaired and maintained and meet minimum safety standards." In other words, the bus line is unsafe as hell, including one motor coach that had a giant hole in the bottom of the bus:
The basis for determining that Lucky Star's motor carrier operations pose an imminent hazard to the public is Lucky Star's widespread and serious noncompliance with Federal safety regulations," Curtis L. Thomas, regional field administrator from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, wrote in the order.More here: Another Chinatown Bus Bites the Dust: Feds Crack Down on Lucky Star.
Federal investigators found one Lucky Star bus with a 4-by-2-foot hole in the bottom, and discovered that the company's buses had broken down 80 times in the last year alone, leaving passengers to "disembark along the highway." The drivers were also under-tested and under-worked--according to the order, the drivers weren't regularly tested for drugs and alcohol, and often drove more than 10 hours a day.
Lucky Star can still get back on the road if the company "drastically changes" its practices. Meanwhile, you'll have to look to the multitude of other Chinatown buses for your next trip between New York and Boston. You can read the Transportation Department's full out-of-service order here.
