The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-05-25
CASE AGAINST JITNEY
Oakland Commerce Chamber Conn ntttee's Report-Are Inemctent
 And Unreliable.

! Many oOJecC1OnS to the J1tney auto
 mobile are found by the transp orta-
 commerce of Oakland, Cal, which are set forth atfIength in a pamphlet dat led April 22. The conclusion of the special transportation committee is that the jitney cannot make money, cannot handle crowds safely nor ade- quately. In its discussion of the sub l ject six '.axioms'' are first outlined as follows:
 F1rst-The jttneys are on the in crease or stationary in numbers, where unreguIated, and about station ary or decreasing under regulation.
 Second-The street railway manag CTS regard the service as a serious
 menace to their business, wherever it operates under present conditions without adequate regulation.
 Third-The drain upon the revenue of the street railways is constant and large. The loss comes out of net revenue directly applicable to fixed charges, since the operating costs re- main the same as longy as the service is not reduced
 Fourth-The jitneys operate almost exclusively over the same streets as the railways
 F1fth-The radius of action of the jitneys under a 5 cent fare is limited to the restricted area where travel is densest and the haul short.
 The committee then asks the Ques- tion Have we now reached, the point where the electric trolley car is. to be rendered obsolete and be super seded by the independently owned and operated small transportation unit? Is this g. scientific advance in urban transportation and an econ noInic nec- essity demanded by the people? Will it result in further increasing the traf- fic range and the economic residence limit from business centers, or, if not extending these limits, will 1t add to the speed, comfort or safety of the service within the present limits 2''
 The subject of long and short haul is then exhaustfvely discussed and the report intimates that, if the trolley com panies have to meet continued Jit- ney competition, it will mean the es-. tabIishment of zones and the increas- ing of the fare from cents to a multiple of that amount.
 Regarding the jitney and it's origin, the conclusion of the cornmittee is that the jitney Is caused by unen- p1oyment and that, as soon as times are good again and there is work for all the men who own adtom obiles. the machines will disappear. That the service will not be stable the report concludes with these words. eff the owner gets Sick and stays at home, or the weather does not suit him, or he finds that he is not making money, or, for any other reason. he quits, there is no known reason, he quits, there is no known means of compelling him to hire a substitute or to continue the service dn these absolute requisites to a satisfactory traffic service-regu- larfty and dependabiIftyA jitneys seem to be essentially weak. Other quotations are:;
 seThe committee has head no dis sentfng voice as to the increased traf- fic hazard due to the Jftneyss Sanitary Inspection and control of small 1nde- pendentIy owned traffic unit is no doubt possible, but hardly probable. The danger to- health from dirty and .unsanitary cars and upholstery is a real one. and much greater than in the smooth-surfaced interior of street car. Crowding and overlooking of cars Is not only a menace to safety and health, but 8 source of even greater discomfort than results from a the same trouble in a, street car.
 Several hundred words are then given to an analysis of the loss to the street car companies and the reduc- ton Of dividends likely. The percent age net loss in various cities of the San Francisco, 2s; Los Angeles, s5; Portland. Ore, ii; Tacoma, Wash, 32. From the table 1t appears that the jitneys are taking from the street rail- ways from T to 10 per cent. of their gross and 20 to 80 per cent. of their net increase.
 The effect upon securities of street railways and new capital investment and the loss to the state is lessened taxes from the street railways is also discussed at length and the report closes with the statement that the committee considers the case against the jitney bus virtually proven.
 Tn the appendix is an interesting table prepared by B. M Holden of New York for the Mason -Seamon Taxicab Company of New York city, for whom he was formerly counsel. His conclusion is that a car should earn at least 10 cents annie to pay expenses.