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City Shuts Down Illegal Bus Service from Chinatown to Flushing, Report Says

By Smriti Rao | July 13, 2012 4:52pm
Four buses are seized as the city cracks down on an illegal dollar bus service operating between Chinatown and Flushing.
Four buses are seized as the city cracks down on an illegal dollar bus service operating between Chinatown and Flushing.
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FLUSHING—The city has put the brakes on an illegal bus service that was operating between Chinatown and Flushing, Queens, the New York Times reported. 

Four buses were seized in the sting and summonses of $1,500 were issued for each vehicle that was operating illegally, the paper added.

The dollar buses were in direct competition with smaller vans that charged $2.75 for a one-way ride, sparking a price war between the two services that forced the vans to slash their prices, the Times said.

Cops and other officials rolled into the buses’ main passenger pick-up points at 41st Avenue in Flushing and Division Street in Chinatown Thursday, the Times said.

According to the paper, the buses were picking up riders in city bus stops and had been issued several parking tickets for being in no-standing zones. At least two buses were involved in minor accidents, the report said.

Commuter vans, which can ferry less than 20 people, have the city’s go ahead to operate legally, the Times said.