Once upon a bus

Once upon a time, when you rode the Chinatown bus from Boston to NYC or vice versa, it was a real experience. We're talking aggressive people shouting for your business on the street, persuading you that it was fine to wait around for an hour or two to catch the next bus amid the crowds on the sidewalk. We're talking crazy drivers shouting into huge cell phones (it was a long time ago). We're talking people carrying live chickens onto the buses, people.

The good times no longer roll. Boston swept the Chinatown buses off the street and into South Station, there's no more livestock, and you can buy tickets online (horror!). As a matter of fact, I no longer see why you would take the Chinatown buses at all, because for about the same price, you can take the Bolt Bus, which is immaculately clean, offers free wifi and power sockets, and drops off in Manhattan next to Penn Station (far more convenient for most than Chinatown).

Bolt is great. But part of me misses the old days.