People looking into alternative Chinatown bus options in the wake of last month’s Fung Wah shutdown now have one less choice. On Friday, the U.S. Department of Transportation revoked the operating license of Ming An, which sells super-cheap rides to cities in Virginia, Georgia, and Florida out of a storefront office on Canal Street. DOT investigators called the company an “imminent hazard to public safety” after finding that it failed to screen drivers for drug and alcohol use and “allowed unqualified drivers to operate its vehicles.” Ming An also didn’t conduct its own safety inspectors or have a maintenance program. In a statement about the closure, secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood threatened other companies that ignore safety regulations with a similar fate. “We will not let up and we will not slow down,” he added, sounding a bit like a Chinatown bus driver.
