Chinatown Bus Crackdown Continues: NY Sheriff Seizes Third YEP Tours Bus

CHINATOWN, NY — Just a few weeks after the NYC Sheriff's Office seized two YEP Tours buses for over $11,000 in unpaid parking tickets, the Sheriff seized a third bus from the company Thursday night.

YEP Tours had to pay the city around $4,000 to recover the bus seized near the corner of East Broadway and Pike Street, a spokesperson from State Sen. Daniel Squadron's office said.

"The days of intercity buses operating like the wild west in our communities are numbered," said Squadron.

For over a decade, Chinatown and Lower East Side community leaders have been pushing city and state officials to crack down on the super-cheap bus companies known for evading local traffic laws and parking wherever they please.

See Related: Victory For Chinatown Bus Haters: 2 YEP Tours Buses Seized For $11K In Unpaid Tickets

YEP Tours owes hundreds of thousands of dollars for tickets issued to its buses, according to Squadron.

In the first enforcement action of its kind, Squadron announced the NYC Sheriff's Office seized two buses belonging to YEP Tours for over $11,000 in unpaid parking tickets on Jan. 11. The seizures were possible thanks to the "intercity bus law," which Squadron wrote in 2012 in an effort to discourage bus companies from blatantly ignoring city rules.

Residents are hopeful that the recent bus seizures will discourages companies from operating illegally, using unauthorized locations to drop off and pick up customers, blocking sidewalks and ignoring parking tickets.

“Intercity buses operating outside the law have created real congestion, quality of life, and safety problems for Lower East Side and Lower Manhattan residents, but for a long time city government couldn’t find a way to do anything about them,” said Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer. “Thank you to the NYPD, the Departments of Finance and Transportation, and the Sherriff for working together to enforce this new law, and congratulations to Senator Squadron for making this enforcement action possible.”

YEP Tours was not available for comment.

Photo via Emma Culbert/SPaCE