PROVIDENCE — A low-cost bus line with a history of maintenance problems will start nonstop service between Providence and New York starting June 15.

Fung Wah Bus Transportation Inc., of New York City, has announced on its Web site that it will begin daily departures to and from Providence on Monday. The company will have two daily departures from 50 Exchange Terrace, on the north side of Kennedy Plaza, and two daily returns from New York. The Providence departures are scheduled for 7 a.m. and 9 a.m.; New York departures are scheduled for 4:15 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. Tickets are $40 each way.

Fung Wah joins the Greyhound and Peter Pan bus lines, as well as Amtrak — the long-distance U.S. passenger railroad — in Providence-New York City service.

Greyhound charges $14 to $34 one way, depending on how far in advance you buy tickets, and whether its buses make stops in between destination points. Peter Pan offers nonstop service ranging from $37 to $45. Amtrak fares run from $54 to $118 depending on departure time and train line.

Fung Wah has developed a mixed service record since its founding in 1997 by New Yorker Pei Lin Liang, popular for its discount fares, but noteworthy for its spotty maintenance.

Liang did not return a phone call for comment made to Fung Wah’s headquarters in New York.

In November 2006, the company was fined $31,100 for violating federal safety regulations in connection with a rollover accident in Auburn, Mass., which injured dozens of passengers traveling from New York to Boston. The Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration said Fung Wah improperly hired drivers who couldn’t speak English and who regularly exceeded speed limits.

Both regulations were violated in the accident, as well as previous bus rides reviewed by federal officials, the agency said at the time.

Fung Wah agreed to allow unscheduled inspections by Massachusetts regulators and driver checks for a short period after the accident that occurred Sept. 5, 2006, on Interstate 290 in Auburn.

The company also agreed to take steps to improve safety, including immediately ceasing to use buses that have not been maintained in a safe and sanitary condition.

Under the agreement, the company also said it would cease “from operating buses without properly trained drivers who are not sufficiently able to read and speak the English language and to converse with the general public.”

Earlier that year, the agency fined the bus company $12,950 for speeding and failure to maintain proper driver records.

In 2005, a Fung Wah bus bound for New York also caught fire on its way through Connecticut.

Fung Wah’s low-fare buses run from New York’s Chinatown to South Station in Boston, offering one-way tickets for $15 that are a popular alternative to trains and more expensive bus lines.

pgrimald@projo.com