For the dozens of people milling about on a sidewalk of Canal Street in Manhattan on Tuesday afternoon, reports that a popular Chinatown bus line was being shut down were drowned out by the siren song of a $15 fare to Boston.

Even after the federal government ordered the bus line, Fung Wah Bus Transportation, to stop running its fleet, about 40 people lined up outside the company’s ticket office for a four-hour ride to Boston. Some had heard of the company’s latest problems, and some had not — but none were deterred.

“If it’s your time, it’s your time,” said Rosemary Donkor, who was headed home to Boston. “I believe that God looks after us all.”

This week, government officials in Boston and Washington ordered Fung Wah’s buses off the road. Initially, the company agreed to sideline 21 of its 28 buses Feb. 23, after Massachusetts officials said they had failed inspection. Then, on Tuesday afternoon, the federal Transportation Department extended the order to all of Fung Wah’s buses.