New-York daily tribune., 1846-01-22
LABOR IN NEw-YoRK:
CONDITIONS AND RE~AHf
No. XXvIII.. The omnibu.es.

The Omnibus system Of New York Is one oil 'he
most characteristic traits Of The Metropolis and a.
though not lacking in abuses and Inconvenience 1t
is altogether striking illustration Of the practica
bility OF ckeqDeniHg the needs OF life. Here now
you can ride in comfortable and even iuxurous
carriage three four and in cases even SIX ana
eight miles for sixpeace-with 10 trouble or respon-
sbility of hcrse.feed coachmans sobriety OF car
rage house. Your fne-painted, plushcushloned
coach is ready for you the instant you reach the
street and ali without your having had the trouble
even 10 ring for il = mysterious and 10 the unni-
tated an mperceptible motion with the iorehnger
is al most all that necessary TO bring The step Wth
in reach OF your foot from the curb-s:one Mostly
even this is superiuous The attentive Jehu spies
you from afar. even while you are still turning to
give Cook her final instructions as TO when you may
be home to dinner. or 10 repeat to Baby the as
suranccs of the distinguished consideration with
which you are &c. &c and you only need nod Your
head lilile-a very tile-and the hospitabe door
flies open to admit you. 1t is true that sometimes
you are little crowded-someThat IN the fashion
of Tammany Hall meetings-and occasionally a
matron with her platoon OF little people who pay
halfprice and require full may give rise TO
little annoyance TO l-natured or selfish Persons-or
if you happen 10 be coming up town from the South
Ferry in cery particular hurry you are apt to be
little impatient at the corner OF Wall Pine Cedar
Liberty and Cortland streets and 10 give vent 10 an
audible groan as your coachnan draws up impos-
ngly in front of the American Museum. assuring the
Band who still play, as in the days when Halleck's 5
Muse was young, in Scudder's Balcony, that he
is bound for Broadway,-right up Sometimes,
too drivers are troubled with bad eyes and appear
not to be quite able TO distinguish brass sxpences
from silver ones, when they give change This, by
the way, is your own faut-for you ought Eerer TO
get into an Omnibus without having n nimble six
| pence in your wastcoat pocket, easily accessible
and requiring no change
Bni all these little Gscomforis vanish when you
reflect seriously on how many occasions the Omn'-
bus is really great and almos; an indispensable
conv enience-when you remember, gradually, al!
the iayors it has conferred upon you-when you
;hnk OF the rainy foot,journeys, the leg-weary
walks it has enabled you to avoid. Those who are
in the daily habit of riding in Omnibuses seldom
think of the real value OF the facility purchased
thus cheaply and never probably inquire any of the
particulars connected with them. This is the age of
statistics however, and the statistics of Omnbuses
cannot he without interest
There are in New-York go licensed Omnibuses,
or Stages as they are most usually called by your
regular cit. OF these 80 have two horses each and
have four-makiug altogether $50. Their routes
are as follows:
No l. kim & Broacu From corner Tweuty-third-
and Nn,h6venue TO Hudsonstrce through ttGd'
Canal and 20 Broadway and so down to the North
grllrl
No. . hipp s. Broom. From same point through Hud-
son. Chambers and Greenwich streets to Baery-pace-
stages.
street down Broadway direct South Ferry-lI stages
MOI Slocim, Reynolds Co. From corner -Four
teenhsreet and Sixth avenue to Eiehn.sreet thence
TO Broadway and down to the South ferry-l9 stages.
! No s. JGraGs Murpiy a Co. From corner / WENT
eighth and Thrdayenue 10 the Bowery and down
through Chatham and Broadway TO the South Fer
No James Murphy " Co. From Tompkins-square
through Eghthseet rhirtavcnue and ihen same as
No. :. PAINE 4 Pears. From Twen,y.third-street
through Ei.hthsveuuc Blocker, then 10 Broadway
and the South Ferry-36 stages
No HaffsM y BcrtRe. From The Dry Dock, corner
avenue D and TeHth,st through Avenue d to Columbia
ST 10 Grand then 10 the Bowery and down TO the South
/ Fcrry-23 stages
No Hatfield s Bertiae From same point through
Columbia to Grand then East-Broadw0y, and down
| through East Broadway, Cha,ham-st and Broadway to
the South h-Ferry-23 stages.
No TO- Sl0clul, Reynolds u Co. From Twenty-trst-s
down Seventh avenue Greenwich lnne down that to
Sxtl.ayenue and To Amity.st- then 20 Broadway and
down to Fulton.s then down TO the Futons' Brooklyn
/ Ferry.
down Sxth.avanue Ninthst. then to Broadway down
/ 10 the Bowling GreeR-20 stages.
No H. SlOcu1a Reynolds & Co. From T~entyihird
ST. down Sixthavenue Eeventhst ST. then TO broadway
and down 10 Walst through Wall st. TO Hanoyersquare
No 10 Charles Uhitson From Pelst through the
{ IN rin
gate Ferry foot OF Eighty siXh.st-i stages.
No H. Charles Watson. From the same point as
above Harlem-i stages. =,
ham street To Manhattanvjlle-5 stages
No 16. JOHN MurpLy. From Tryon-Row to HarIem
Bridge stages.
No II. Thomas Murphy From No Chatham street to
the Bowery and Thri.avenue Eighty sNth'street 70
! iiurlgatc Ferry-3 stages.
On the frs. twelve of these routes stage starts
from either end every five minutes and they cor
tinue running till about o o'clock, town-iown-rp-
stream sometimes till after midnight The iare Is
in all cases sxpencc-al,hough one OF S!ocum'
Reynolds x Co.'S lines the Wall street and hano-
erSquarc line) sometimes eXtors double taFe al
night from those who will pay it. Some ludicrous
and some dsgracetul scenes occur on account OF ms
attempt on the par, of the drivers and their peril
nacity in adhcrng to their small potato swinG!e-
The FIVE las, routes run but once in half an hour
each; and instead OF arranging matters, as they
might do so as to have stage leave every few min
utes. they ell start AT and run races-thus con-
vertng great convenience into great nuisance
All these stages do an excellent business, and are
generally crowded--especialy in the morning from
TO 10 o'clock and in the evening from 10 ! Dur
ing these hours il is often difficult and in stormy
weather impossible 10 get seat in any OF the Broad
way Omnibuses any where above the Asior- House
AS to the amount of receipts, it is impossible TO
form any accurate estimate. Each driver, we be
lieve, usually makes ten rips day on the principal
routes and supposing that they average eisnitareS
each way. which we think they do, it would make
los sixpences or $ per day for each driver The
principal routes employ 23O omnibuses. which, ac-
cording to this estimate would be $3.50 per day
for their gross receipts. The other twenty-five ON
nibuses always run fall, and probably average 80
7 jey--rln kipsY a1fooafLa- 5000 Der day paid Tor