The Washington herald., 1915-03-07

taken the city by storm, smashed into
The street car business and started a
regular revolution in transportation.
twenty-five cities or more are swarm
ing with five-cent auto busses when this
edition went to press, and there's no
telling how many jitney bus systems
have sprung UP between then and the
time you read this, for the growth of the
mushroom is turtlelike compared to the
development of this new means of
transportation. In fact. the streets of
all the biggest cities of the west and as
lar east as Baltimore are filled with
busses and automobiles of every descrip-
ton. carrying passengers anywhere they
want TO go for fve-cent fare, and
stopping at the curb, too.
This. the most significant revolution
in urban transportation which the
United States has seen since the street
ar was developed. has taken place with
s2ch unprecedented rapidity that the
nation at large hasn't been able TO keep
rack Of II. or even realize its vast impor-
t-nce. The cities where the jitney bus
las gained popularity are absolutely I'M
aDle to revise traffic ordinances fast
enough TO keep pace with the invading
horde of buses while the street car
companies are simply frantic in their
desperate fight TO check this new peril
10 their monopoly of transportation.
Some of the cities the streets of which
are now filled with the jtncy busses, or
where associations have been formed 10
operate such systems, are: Chicago,
Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, Toledo,
Milwaukee, ST. Louis, New Orleans,
Houston. San Antonio, Dallas, Calves
ton, Fort Worth, FL Paso, Birmingham,
Atlanta. Memphis, Kansas City, Joplin,
Mo; Oklahoma City, Springfield and
Lexington, Mo; DeS% Moines, Omaha,
Denver, Ogden, Utah; Lincoln, Neb.;
Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland,
Cal; Portland, Ore: Vancouver. b. C:
Seattle, Wash; baltimore and Philadel-
phia, to say nothing of many smaller
cities
In San Francisco 300 jitney busses
are in operation, 900 more have been
ordered and an additional 1000 will
be IN operation by the time the Panama
Pacific Exposition is well under way, to
take care of the crowds Los Angeles
has 300 of the five-cent busses; Seattle
Il like number; Kansas City, 100 with -
routes: Fort Worth, 141, while the jit-
neys cover ten routes in Omaha.
In Seattle, steps are being taken to
standardize jitney schedules, simplify
routes, arrange for transfers and a six
tickets-for-a-quarte fare. In Portland
thee is business agent for the system
who oversees the drivers and the station
starters at various points, and keeps the
buses running on regular schedule.
In Houston, where the jitney bus sys-
tenn originated, so it is said, it is eSti-
mated that the jitnpys, although less
taan three months old. are taking at
least $1,000 in fares away from the
street car company every day. In Fort
Worth the 141 busses are divertnE fully
$500 Il day from the trolley system.
l.; ,;+
Sal Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle and
Portland nearly 2.4"o jitneys are in
operation, and their minimum daily re-
CeiptS are estimated at $4,000. which
means a loss in fares to the street car
system of s6,395. 900 a year-and yet
the jitncy is only in its infancy, Small
wonder that the trolley companies are
worrying,
II. ID. Squires, of the Central Wagon
and Auto Company, was the first to eS
tabIish fleet of jitneys in Cleveland,
although the Cleveland Railway Com
pany has been operating three auto
busses for some time in the way of an
experiment. The SquireS line. which
runs in Euclid avenue from the Public
Square to Z. 55th St, was started on
February 90 and Immediately proved
popular. the buSses being filled to ca
pacity every trip.
Harry Il. Johnson, mead OF the JOhn-
son Sightseeing Company, is preparing
to cover the entire city of Cleveland with
iitney lines. The first Johnson line will
be established in Euclid avenue. and OPP
crate between l.. 105th st. and the Pub
lie Square. The Johnson company will
have a capital of 100000, and the syS-
tenn will be extended as rapidly as buses
can be constructed.
ut is only question of time" says
Mr.. johnson, until the street car COM
pany will be hard put by the jitney lines.
I've procured data from Kansas City,
San Francisco, Los Angeles and other
western cities where the buses have ex-
perienCed mushroom growth and sue
cess, and am convinced they have come
for good.
I'm Cleveland, however. conditions not
encountered in western cities must be
met Rough pavements, three-cent fare
and the railway company's frequent
service are big factors that must be con-
Sidcred. On some streets the pavement
S SO bad passengers would have to be
strapped in. Then, too. a saving of two
cents on every ride mounts up when con-
sidered by the year. But from outlying
cross-town centers there will be enough
persons willing TO pay a 'jitney' for
fast ride down town to make the service
q success
Mr. Johnson has planned a truck
body miniature street car with the
regulation Sido glass windows-that will
seat thirty-two. The pay-enter box will
be at the rear, with an aisle down the
middle and seats at risht-angles to the
aisle Straphangers will be conspicuous
by their absence.
Twelve cents mile will cover all
operating expenses nicely. he figures
al, x,VfI 4 Il