The popularity has led to a clog of buses idling along Olympic Boulevard and nearby side streets, taking up parking, obstructing businesses’ views and waking residents at odd hours.įor more than a decade, city officials, police and the neighborhood council have been fielding complaints from businesses and residents but have been unable to do much more than shuffle the problem from one block to the next. The riders come from a group that is largely invisible, low-income or poor. In Koreatown, the buses have found a steady and reliable customer base in elderly immigrants, many of whom are widows or widowers living alone in senior apartments. A few years ago, one casino honored the owner of a Koreatown-based tour company for delivering her 1 millionth customer to the gambling hall. Most are run by independent bus companies that are compensated by the casinos for each customer they bring. and returning as late as 4 a.m., offering essentially free rides - after the casinos’ incentives - across Southern California. The buses depart daily, leaving as early as 6:30 a.m. Then the casino sends a coupon for a free buffet or advertises a giveaway of colorful cast iron pots, and she finds herself on the bus once more. At times, she resists going for a few weeks at a stretch. Sometimes Oh wonders how things would have turned out if she never got on that bus, never got that first taste.
