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Police Issue 90 Tickets to Chinatown Buses Under New Law

By Lisha Arino | October 15, 2014 8:28am
 Passengers board an intercity bus on East Broadway.
Passengers board an intercity bus on East Broadway.
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DNAinfo/Lisha Arino

LOWER EAST SIDE — The NYPD has issued 90 tickets totaling $45,000 in fines since August when authorities began enforcing intercity bus laws in the Lower East Side.

Capt. Timothy Wilson, who is responsible for overseeing traffic enforcement in the 7th precinct, said officers have issued tickets for offenses like stopping outside of approved zones and failing to display permits.

“These guys have really been pounding it out,” he said.

Out of the 90 tickets issued so far, 56 were issued because buses made unlawful stops or unauthorized passenger pick-ups or drop-offs, Wilson said. The remaining 34 summonses were related to permitting issues like failing to prominently display a copy of the permit or altering it, he said.

The NYPD began issuing summonses on Aug. 19, Wilson said, roughly a month after elected officials met with the police department and the Department of Transportation about the issue.

Last year, the city began requiring all long-distance buses — which travel to destinations as far away as Ohio, Virginia and Florida — to have a permit to drop off or pick up passengers at DOT-approved stops. The low-cost buses are particularly prevalent in Chinatown.

However, enforcement did not begin immediately so that bus companies would have time to apply for permits and learn about the changes, officials said.

Fines start at $500 and can go up to $2,500 for subsequent offenses within two years, according to the DOT’s website. While the DOT issues the permits and approves bus stops, the NYPD is responsible for enforcing the law.

“We’re making an effort with [the bus companies] and most of this is designed to get them in line, to be good neighbors,” Wilson said.

Many of the offenses have occurred near Pike and Allen Streets, where neighbors have complained to police about the buses, he said, but the precinct is not targeting one specific area.

Wilson could not say how many bus companies have been ticketed because officers only write down the license plate number of the offending vehicles before they are sent to the Department of Finance, which collects and processes payments for parking tickets, he said.

When asked if there was a list of ticketed bus companies, a DOT spokesman said it was an enforcement issue and referred DNAinfo to the NYPD.

There is also no system in place to track and fine repeat offenders, Wilson said, but the city is working to solve that issue.

"They tried to be forward thinking with the law and now they’re catching up to it,” he said.

In 2013, federal officials shut down Fung Wah, one of the most notorious intercity Chinatown bus companies, for a number of safety violations. The discount carrier is trying to return to the road, but is facing a tough fight from federal regulators.