Readers have been reporting to World Journal that recently the New York
Readers have been reporting to World Journal that recently the New York State Department of Transportation has been conducting frequent inspections of Chinese-run commuter vans in Chinatown. The inspections take a very long time, and many passengers complain that these time-consuming inspections have inconvenienced them a great deal. The drivers were also left in fear.
Wellington Chen, executive director of the Chinatown Partnership, said on June 17 that he witnessed one of these raids when he and his friends took a van from Chinatown to Flushing. Chen said it was a busy day in Chinatown. The van was quickly packed with passengers. Right after the engine was started, an officer from the NYS DOT, clad in an orange uniform, suddenly showed up. He said he would inspect the van and asked the driver to cooperate.
“The officer asked the driver to turn on the fog lights, then the signal lights. He checked the brake, counted the number of passengers, examined the exterior and the ceiling of the car. He even asked passengers to open the windows and kick the tires for him. It took him 30 minutes to finish. Passengers on board were stuck there. Other vans didn’t dare to pull over. Many more passengers were left at the roadside.”
It is rare for inspectors to conduct the work when passengers are boarded. The road raids often focus on checking ID, which only takes a few minutes. Mechanical inspections should be done when the van is empty and in off-peak hours. “This looked like he did it deliberately to give us a hard time,” said Chen.
He said the inspector found nothing wrong and had to give the van a sticker with an A grade. But Chen was surprised that other than him, no passengers on the van or waiting at the roadside complained. The driver also just quietly did whatever he was told. Chen said Chinese should know how to make their voices heard and protect their own rights when being treated unfairly.
Ms. Xiao, a driver who has been working in Chinatown for more than 20 years, said she came to the U.S. in 1989, and witnessed how a dozen or so 14-seat minivans commuting between Chinese dominated neighborhoods in the 1990s developed into today’s industry of more than 60 vehicles with 20 or more seats each. “History has shown that commuter vans have contributed a lot to the prosperity of Chinatown,” she said.
She said for a long time, there were no official stations for the commuter vans and law enforcement could show up anytime to issue summons. So drivers had been operating in fear. They often took off when the passengers, including seniors and pregnant women, were barely seated. ??As for the frequent raids over the past two months, Ms. Xiao said: “The inspectors have to work in the field. It is a hard job. We understand. So we try our best to cooperate. But when it happens several times a week, that is too much.”
Some drivers said they understand the authorities’ need to maintain safety. But the way they enforce the law, the long time it takes and the hefty tickets they issue are hard to bear. A driver, Mr. Chen, said drivers don’t make much. With law enforcement visiting several times a week, a ticket could cost a whole day’s income.
By Yue Li, Via World Journal
Translated by Rong Xiaoqing from Chinese