Just wondering if anyone has ever traveled on one of the New York - Washington "Chinatown" buses? Any stories? Are they reliable and safe? Is there a "best company"?

Yes and yes.

And....I have the funniest story we went on one of the buses to ATlantic City and had a reservation to come back on the 8:45pm bus to NYC.

I won about $150 just as it was time to leave and Paul ran to cash in the chit you get out of the slot machine. I got on the bus but Paul was not there, and the bus closed the doors and started moving. I yelled "WAIT", and the other people on the bus started yelling at me "8:46, 8:46, we go!! 8:46", so the driver who did not speak english, finally stopped the bus and I hopped off. We had to stay overnight as this was the last bus leaving. So yes they are most assuredly on time, lol.

There are several websites that have reviews or describe experiences of the various companies. Here's a good one with lots of links

http://nycbos.smithhallalumni.org/ph...hp?f=3&i=2&t=2

Greyhound has had to drop their prices to compete. Here's an article on that and some other options

http://www.dcist.com/archives/2005/0..._bus_lines.php

I have used the Washington Deluxe Bus line a few times without any problem. Less expensive than Greyhound and you can reserve a seat. The only real problem I encountered was the traffic on I-95 between DC and NYC. The trip "normally" takes about 4 hours, but on a Friday during the summer it is much longer. Of course, I would have been stuck in the same traffic if I was driving.

Also, the NYT and WP have written stories about the various Chinatown bus and the Jewish bus.

They seem fine, but my only caution is that they may not be insured or able to respond to an emergency.