Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1915-02-11

nesstS. III point Oh spceu VI ueNSiob-
mont. which this country has seen is
that OF the ''jitney" bus or automo-
bile which. almost in the winklng of
an eye. has taken the west..by storm
q I'd extended eastward ss far as
Baltimore. The ''jitney" car takes
it's name. apparently. from the fact
that 5.cent fare per passenger is
charged, 'jitney" being slang for q
nickel The slogan Of the jitney is
take you anywhere and stop at any
corner for jitney." Thousands OF
cars are being used in this wsy as a
supplement or rival to the street car
service in a score of cities in the
middle west and on the coast.
Indeed. so active has their opera
ton become. that street railway
C )mpanies have begun an active
fight on them in several cities, in
Guiding San Francisco, Seattle. Des
Moines. Houston and Fort Worth.
Realty associations in other places
have begun to protest. and in Seattle
a proposal to have the municipality
buy the street railway system OF
that city has been put in allegiance
because of the multiplication and
popul irity of the "jitneys.' All
this is a matter of six weeks at the
most. The mushroom growth of
the jtney has been so rapid that
cities which we're in blissful ignor.
ance of it in the evening found cars
in operation the next morning
Those who have learned of the move
ment are wondering when it will be
New York's turn.
This new public utility" which
is believed to have had its origin in
Houston Tex, is defined by the
Cleveland Plain Dealer thus:
"A jitney bus is an automobile of
any kind-usually a rather second
hand automobile operated for the
accommodation of passengers at the
rae of 5 cents-one 'jitney'-per
passenger. As long as there is room
in the iitney bus any one may board
it at any place.
1.-The jitney bus is the taxicsb re-
duced to its lowest and simplest
terms. In the many cite, it has
somewhat relieved the congestion
on street cars, which has not heen
a together to the liking of the men
who operate the street cars. In
Cleveland the jitney would come in
to competition with Scent fare"
The number of these nondescript
cars in operation already is really
remarkable. Within a month 800
jitney buses appeared on the streets
of San Francisco and sbout 1000
cars are in use there in this way.
One hundred cars are operating in
Kansas City; Fort Worth has l4l
buses; 300 are in single association
in Seattle; others are in Milwaukee.
Denver. Ogden, Omaha, Vancouver.
Portland, Des Moines. st. Louis.
Joplin and Baltimore. Ten routes
were established in Omaha. Feb.
l. Kansas City has twenty-seven
routes. including an FOWL" service
up till midnight. Fully 1000 jitneys
are expected to line the route to the
Panama Pacific exposition in Son
Francisco.
Although in point of time the j t.
ney business can hard y be said to
have drawn its first full breath. all
the earmarks of an established
business IN addition to some decided
novelties are TO be found IN conDec-
ton with it. Associations of own
ers have been formed. Thus the
Seattle Auto Transit association has
300 members, and has retained
counsel to protect its interest in the
legislature. Most Of the Kansas
City operators belong to an associa'
ton. In Ogden. Utah. the Jitney
Service Company has been incorpor.
ated with capital of $25. 900.
In several cities women have ia.
ken up the business as drivers. and
in Fort Worth negro company is
being ganized to put in a Jim
Crow" line of jtneys.