Lucky Star buses resumed service Friday between Boston and New York City for the first time in five months following a shutdown from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in June due to safety violations.
After spending almost $1 million to train drivers and repair buses, the business has already shown acceleration, said Sheldon Yong, operations manager for Lucky Star.
“A lot of customers have been calling,” he said. “From Boston to New York and New York to Boston, it gets busier and busier every day.”
Lucky Star was shut down, along with Fung Wah, another bus service that ran between New York and Boston, after dual investigations from the Boston Department of Public Utilities and FMCSA. Fung Wah has not yet been approved for full service.
Lucky Star was found to be in violation of 69 federal safety codes for bus services on two separate investigations in May 2013, one of which was a four-foot-by-two-foot hole in the bottom of a bus, according to the federal report mandating it stop service.
In order to get back on the road, Lucky Star renovated or replaced much of its fleet and had to implement stricter requirements for driver training and sobriety to meet federal codes.
Yong said the bus service is doing better than ever, and passengers have no reason to worry about quality of service.
“Safety for our passengers is the most important thing,” he said. “It [a shutdown] will not happen again. We do everything we can. We train everybody, drivers and officers …to ensure that they comply with the regulations.”
The FMCSA had been processing Lucky Star’s request to return to service for several months before giving final approval. Even though Lucky Star just passed all standards, it still will be monitored and held to the same standards.
“Safety is our top priority and FMCSA is taking aggressive action to strengthen passenger carrier safety and enforcement,” said a Tuesday statement from an FMCSA spokesperson. “Lucky Star took the corrective actions FMCSA required to improve their safety to federal standards and re-apply for authority to transport passengers … [so] the agency reinstated their authority.”
Even though Lucky Star had to meet federal requirements to resume service, Yong said the improvements were already forthcoming before the June shutdown in the interest of their passengers.
“Customer service is important, and that’s what we stress,” he said. “Before we got shut down, we [had] already ordered the buses and they were on their way, but we got shut down. These things happen … [our] service is still the same. We try to give better service.”
Some residents said they were excited for the service to return.
“At the point before it was shut down, I never would have ridden that bus, but it seems like they’ve gotten it together now,” said Fred Glynn, 58, of Boston. “It’s still cheap and since they were able to pass inspections, I’d say it’s great that they’re back and they’re still affordable.”
Elizabeth Tyler, 28, an employee at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center living in the South End, said she was still wary of Lucky Star’s operations.
“I used to hear that people could ride in crates on the bus, but that’s not the right thing to do,” she said. “I hope that they addressed all the issues, but I don’t think I would ever ride with them, because I wouldn’t want to be on something that’s unsafe for me to ride in.”
Mike Jonnes, 31, a limo driver from Boston, said the bus service being back was fantastic news.
“I have absolutely no problem using them,” he said. “Even before, they were the only way I ever went to New York. Of course, safety is the most important thing, so if it’s safe now, it truly is just the best. You can’t beat $15 to get that far, and saving money is a great thing.”
