Xe Đò Hoàng () or Hoang Express is an

intercity bus service An intercity bus service (North American English) or intercity coach service (British English and Commonwealth English), also called a long-distance, express, over-the-road, commercial, long-haul, or highway bus or coach service, is a public t ...

based in

Orange County, California Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...

. The service began in 1999 with a route connecting

Little Saigon Little Saigon () is a name given to ethnic enclaves of overseas Vietnamese, expatriate Vietnamese mainly in English-speaking countries. (). Saigon is the former name of the capital of the former South Vietnam (now Ho Chi Minh City), where a lar ...

in Orange County with the community in San Jose. The service has grown to become a crucial link between

Vietnamese-American Vietnamese Americans () are Americans of Vietnamese people, Vietnamese ancestry. They constitute a major part of all overseas Vietnamese. As of 2023, over 2.3 million people of Vietnamese descent live in the United States, making them the fourth ...

communities in the West Coast.

History

Xe Đò Hoàng was started by Linh Hoang Nguyen (''Nguyễn Hoàng Linh'') in 1999, with a few small vans. He got the idea of starting a bus line connecting Little Saigon in Orange County with San Jose, the two communities with the largest concentration of Vietnamese people in the United States, while waiting for a flight at

John Wayne Airport John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

. He was working as a driving instructor in Orange County at the time, and on his frequent flights to visit relatives in San Jose he often helped elderly Vietnamese Americans with limited English abilities to find their gates or the baggage carousel. In the beginning, there was only one line from Little Saigon to San Jose, using an old Chevrolet minivan; he later bought an old bus. After the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

, increased security at airports and increased fear of flying created opportunities for the service to expand. In 2001, the service had turned into a 57-seat bus and became well known in the Vietnamese American community in California. In 2005, Linh Hoang Nguyen was seriously injured after being shot; according to the police, his assailants were hired by a business competitor to assassinate him. Before that, employees of the service were attacked while picking up customers. By 2014, the service had grown to include 11 buses with 15 drivers and expanded to various destinations such as

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, and Phoenix. The Orange County-San Jose route alone had about 1000 riders per week. Xe Đò Hoàng was severely impacted during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The service suffered low ridership after the

stay-at-home order A stay-at-home order, safer-at-home order, movement control order – also referred to by loose use of the terms quarantine, isolation, or lockdown – is an order from a government authority that restricts movements of a population as a mass qu ...

was lifted in California and had to reduce the frequency of its routes.

Services

Xe Đò Hoàng has a relatively low cost and arrives at its destinations quicker compared to mainstream intercity bus lines such as

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...

. Its riders are primarily Vietnamese Americans, although people of other ethnicities also ride the bus, prompted by word of mouth from friends due to its inexpensive cost. It targets primarily riders living in Northern or Southern California who want to visit family or friends in the other region, especially the elderly and college students, or those who don't want to drive the long distance or can not afford plane tickets. When riding the bus, each passenger would be given a

bánh mì In Vietnamese cuisine, , bánh mỳ or banh mi (, ; , 'bread' (Hanoi: �aʲŋ̟˧˥.mi˧˩or Saigon: �an˧˥.mi˧˩), is a short baguette with thin, crisp crust and a soft, airy texture. It is often split lengthwise and filled with meat and ...

or xôi, a

water bottle A water bottle is a container that is used to hold liquids, mainly water, for the purpose of transporting a drink while travelling or while otherwise away from a supply of potable water. Water bottles are usually made of plastic, glass, metal. ...

, napkins, and a trash bag. The TV screens on the bus usually show Vietnamese-language variety shows produced in the United States such as ''

Paris by Night ''Paris by Night'' (commonly abbreviated as ''PBN'') is a direct-to-video series featuring Vietnamese-language musical variety shows produced by Thúy Nga Productions. Hosted mainly by Nguyễn Ngọc Ngạn and Nguyễn Cao Kỳ Duyên, the ...

'' or those produced by , or . There is free

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...

on board for those needing Internet access. Besides transporting people, Xe Đò Hoàng also transports goods between its destinations. Currently, Xe Đò Hoàng serves routes connecting Southern California with San Jose, Oakland, San Francisco, Sacramento, and

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

; Northern California with

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, El Monte,

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

; and in Arizona connecting Chandler, Tempe, and Phoenix.

Role

Xe Đò Hoàng is considered a connecting bridge between the two largest Vietnamese communities in the United States, even though they are separated by almost 400 miles. Riders use the service to visit family and friends, attend ceremonies, or keep in touch with their loved ones even though they live far away from each other. The service plays a role similar to that of

Chinatown bus lines Chinatown bus lines are discount intercity bus services in the United States, often operated by Chinese Americans, primarily Fujianese. They operate with lower overhead and lower fares compared to competing services. Destinations include mo ...

for

Chinese Americans Chinese Americans are Americans of Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans have ancestors from mainland China, Hong Kong ...

in the East Coast. Xe Đò Hoàng is also active in the Vietnamese-American community, having provided free or reduced-cost transportation to protesters protesting against the Vietnamese government or against the Chinese government in the Hai Yang Shi You 981 standoff.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Xe Do Hoang Vietnamese-American culture Companies based in Orange County, California Intercity bus companies of the United States Bus transportation in California 1999 establishments in California Transport companies established in 1999 Transportation in Orange County, California

History

Services

Role

See also

References

External links