Andrew Sullivan kindly linked to a column of mine on the revolution in coach travel. But I’m afraid his readers didn’t read the column very closely, assuming they read it at all: my point was that while Fung Wah was an innovator in this space, it has been followed by better-capitalized corporates that, as it happens, have a much stronger safety record.
This is an important thing to remember about about competition: a mom-and-pop can have a great idea, but this great idea will soon imitated by others who will do their best to out-execute the first movers.
Some of Andrew’s readers seem to think that it’s tragic that people can choose a low-cost carrier that cuts corners on safety. I think that safety regs are appropriate within reason, but I also think that there should be wide scope for customers to take their chances. We remember the horror stories, but we don’t always remember the good that cheap fares can do.
The worst of the Chinatown bus wars involved a price war, which I referenced in the article. Fares fell to $9 for a time. The authorities intervened due to an outbreak of violence and a well-informed belief that the various Chinatown coach services were transporting unauthorized immigrants. The fares have since increased, in part due to regulatory pressure but also due to the advent of competition from Megabus and BoltBus.
And that’s the whole point: the fixation of Fung Wah ignores that my column was about the corporate carriers that displaced them.