Fung Wah service continues with replacement buses

BOSTON (WHDH) -- Federal regulators ordered Fung Wah buses off the roads so officials can inspect the company’s entire fleet, but the company continues to serve its customers.

The company, a discount bus service between Boston and New York City's Chinatown, was not shutdown. The federal order prohibits the company from continuing to transport passengers on its 28 vehicles.

Fung Wah is using replacement buses to transport passengers from Boston to New York and back.

Tuesday’s announcement by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration comes after Massachusetts officials found serious problems with eight Fung Wah buses, including cracks in their frames.

The company had already agreed to take 21 buses off the road, but the federal order removes all 28 from service for inspections.

“...Safety investigators are continuing their examination of Fung Wah's operations, including examining the safety records of its vehicles, drivers and other company safety performance requirements,” the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said in a statement.

“I already paid. If they’re going to give me back my money…Then I have to worry about getting home. I have to go to work. Life goes on,” said Grace Mateo, a Fung Wah passenger.

Passengers were still boarding the buses after hearing the company’s fleet had been taken out of service.

Fung Way has a history of troubles over the past several years, including buses that have broken down or caught fire and a $31,000 fine for safety violations linked to a 2006 rollover that injured dozens of passengers.

It is unclear how scaled back the service will be.