Readers Say

‘Scary, but the price was right’: Readers remember the Fung Wah bus

After Ayo Edebiri shouted out the Boston-to-New York bus, readers shared their own memories of breakdowns, fires, and $15 fares.

Fung Wah bus

By Autumn Sloboda

5 minutes to read

The Fung Wah bus may be gone, but the stories are still very much alive.

When Ayo Edebiri shouted out the Fung Wah bus on the “Today” show, the mention brought back memories for anyone who once took the cheap, chaotic ride between Boston and New York.

The Boston-born star of “The Bear” recalled taking the low-cost bus with her mother from Boston to New York, where they would try to rush Broadway shows.

“Shoutout if you know what that is,” Edebiri said.

She kept the bit going during an appearance on “Late Night with Seth Meyers” Wednesday where she poked fun at the “unique journey” provided by the now discontinued bus line. Edebiri described it as a $10 or $15 ride from Boston’s Chinatown to New York that could get passengers there in “under four hours — sometimes three.”

“It’s like the Concorde of buses,” she joked.

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But, as Edebiri put it, the cheap fare came with a certain amount of uncertainty. The bus might catch fire. It might break down in Connecticut. It might leave passengers to “figure it out” at an IHOP somewhere between Boston and New York.

“The bad news is the bus broke down,” she joked. “The good news is, you live here now.”

Boston.com readers seemed to know exactly what she meant.

We asked readers to share their memories of the Fung Wah, and the responses were just as chaotic. They remembered cheap fares, fast rides, breakdowns, missed pickups, highway scares, fires, and the strange sense of community that came from accepting that anything could happen once you got on board.

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Some responses have been lightly edited for grammar and clarity.

‘Cheap and fast’

“Cheap and fast. I recall the drivers being a bit aggressive in driving but I never worried about safety. I miss it.” — Bob P., Hull

“It was a great affordable option to NYC, with lots of interesting people.” — Phil, Southie

“Scary, but the price was right.” — Sam S., Jamaica Plain

“Took it plenty of times, thankfully always made it one piece! The last was to celebrate my wife’s — then summer girlfriend from Ireland — 20th birthday!” — Nathan A., Taunton

‘Bus on fire’

“You’d see these buses on I-84 in Vernon, Conn., all the time. Usually filthy. Running joke was Fung Wah translated as ‘bus on fire.’” — Cornelius B., Vernon, Connecticut

“All the time! One time the bus caught on fire and we had to wait two hours for another bus to come get us. I think we were somewhere in Connecticut. But still the best and cheapest way to get to NYC.” — Kat, East Boston

“How often they went up in flames on the road. The T was safer. Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.” — Gwen G., Brookline

“It did not catch fire any of the times I rode the Fung Wah.” — JC, Prospect Heights

‘You knew that it was coming through’

“I never rode the Fung Wah, but I drove the Boston-NYC route a lot in the early 2000s. Seeing a Fung Wah bus in the rearview mirror on I-95 was scary, because no matter how much traffic there was or how far back it was, you knew that it was coming through!” — Craig G., Stoneham

‘I used to fly airplanes but then I crashed one.’

“On the way back to Boston from New York, at the rest stop break in Connecticut, our Fung Wah driver — a heavyset, bald, white guy with a thick Boston accent — stood up and made this announcement to the passengers: ‘Hi everyone, I’m Shawn, your Chinese bus driver. I used to fly airplanes but then I crashed one. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the rest of the ride. I’ll get you to Boston in no time.’” — David W., Brookline

‘Breaking down.’

“Too many to recall, but I do remember breaking down on the highway, and also the time the driver sped away from the Sturbridge rest stop leaving probably about a dozen people behind and running for the bus while the rest of the passengers screamed, ‘Wait!’” — Jamie P., Roslindale

“In the summer of 2003, I took a fateful Fung Wah bus ride after getting my wisdom teeth out. I was hopped up on painkillers — prescribed! — and the bus broke down in 98-degree heat just over the Connecticut border. We had to wait on the side of the highway for almost two hours for another bus to be dispatched to us. The most hilarious part was that they had only left enough spaces for the passengers on the side of the road and had not even sent a bus that was empty. Nevertheless, I made it to New York City late that night and in one piece.” — Claire C., Wayland

“I never took a Fung Wah, but I had the pleasure of helping push a stuck one out of the snow in NYC back in the early 2000s. What a mess! But, in true Fung Wah fashion, wouldn’t you know it? My best buddy, Dmitri, was onboard that very same bus. Talk about a bonding experience — two young guys from Belmont and a stuck Fung Wah in the middle of snowy NYC. Amazing. Shoutout to my 2000 Volvo S40 that got us home safe.” — Simon M., Belmont

‘It never showed up.’

“No, but tried to and it never showed up at the pickup point in Boston. We opted to hop over to South Station and grab an Acela ride. I was a young professional, so not what I wanted to spend my money on, but so worth it!” — Nikki, Northborough

‘How else am I supposed to get there?

“My 77-year-old mother called me — from her flip phone, of course — to let me know she was on her way to New York to meet my brother, who was flying in from Japan. I asked the obvious question: ‘How are you getting there?’ She didn’t drive. Never had. So I braced myself. ‘The Fung Wah Bus,’ she said, like this was the most logical, safest, and only option on the table. ‘How else am I supposed to get there?’ Click. And just like that, she was gone — off the grid and straight to voicemail.” — Judi H., Medford

“I live in Boston, and my late lamented lived in a renovated loft on the Bowery, lower Manhattan. For years we took the Fung Wah bus to visit back and forth. It was cheaper than driving, and we didn’t have to worry about parking. Best of all, I could walk from the Canal Street terminal to his building with a rolling suitcase. Death and COVID have made those days of cheap travel a distant, bittersweet memory.” — Jacqueline L., Brighton

“My son and I took the early morning Fung Wah bus primarily to attend a taping of the Conan O’Brien — a Brookline High School alum — show, for which we had gotten free tickets. Before that, though, we got food to eat and visited the Met. Because we were so far uptown though, we barely made it to the taping on time, but we enjoyed the show immensely and were super tired by the time we got home that night. My husband kindly dropped us off and picked us up.” — Chris S., Brookline

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