The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1915-02-09
THE jITNEY BUS
Kansas City Woman. Pioncc in Pro-
testing Service, Makes & OF It
Idea Spreads.

SFAhh@
Idea Spreads.
Kansas City Special to New York
HERALD
When the people Of Kansas City got
the idea that street cars We're not
| properly ventilated and that the SER
vice was not what il should he w. II.
| Miller conceived the idea OF starting
a 'jitney service with his autoIno-
bile. That "jitney service meant hat
he would carry passengers over a reg
ular route for five cents each. No
sooner had Mr.. Miller conceived the
idea than Mrs. G. NJ. Gibson. wife OF a
mechanic for an automobile concern.
took it up, and With her husbands
motor car started d "jitney service OF
her own. That was three weeks ago.
and today there are more than one
hundred automobiles in the 'litnev
service in Kansas City. and the ex-
ample has spread ard is spreading
throughout towns and cities Of the
West.
Mrs. Gibson's husband owned an au-
tomobile. and Mrs. Gibson took pleas
ure in driving it. When complaint got
strong against the inadeQuacy of the
street car service she engaged q nurse
for her daughter, Dorothy, two years
old. and ran her husbands motor car
out of the garage and went into bust
ness.
The people here like this service"
she said today. Il have had no
: trouble getting passengers, and they
, would ride on the tenders of my auto
mobile or on the hood if l would let
t them. The men are jolly and kind
, and encouraging, and although l
, charge them only five cents many of
: them give me a dime, and some OF
them make me take twenty-five cents
: for a fare"
7 From one end OF Kansas City to an
other the "jitney service" has grown,
: and the street car company is seeing a
. reduction in its earnings. The auto
mobiles give a quicker service from
many parts of the centre of the bust
ness district, and there is haste on the
part of many owners of automobiles
n to convert their motor cars into We
hicleS of a greater seating capacity
han the usual five or six passenger
type. One man is covering a route
is two miles long from a downtown cor
e ner to a boulevard thirty blocks away.
e He has averaged four trips an hour.
= A temporary station has been open
r ed at No. 1875 Grand avenue. from
o which all the in the lit
d ney service" start. Estimates place
ii the number of passengers thy carry
IS at Is, 000 a day.
,e The result Of the great popularity
II into which the "jitney service" has de.
Il, veloped has led to the organization o
l. the Jitney Service Association. an,
a. Nh. Miller, the man who first develop
b. ed the idea to the point where h
v used his own motor car to carry pas
by SengerS for five cents, was chosen q
ne the director. Mrs. Gibson wa; mad
n cashier, and a hired chauffeur is driv
ing the Miller car, while Mr.. Gibsol
has resigned his position as mechanl
We in an automobile concern to devote hi
he time to carrying passengers at fv
on cents each in his own automobile.
nc trTI,nrn'C A pnnay in II - hn no
Of said.
Interurban service has been eStae
lished between Kansas City and Ola
,e. the, and the same fare is charged a
on the street car cOmpany'S line. TIL
a "jitney line is to be extended to IT
dependence and other nearby towns.
n The "jitney service" was frs. inal
ue gurated in Kansas City during ger
Ia weather, but Indications are that
"a will continue to grow, and on the colo
a est days the number of passenger
re- carried in the automobiles is said
for make the SCENE feasible and prof
le- able. The '.jitney cars are at lea
getting all the passengers they ca
lg- carry.
RI The "jitney service" has started
1at war between the street a c,mpar
and the city administration. which r
fused the company's demand that II
Id tax on automobiles carrying pass
Of gers be made higher. The street c.
ay- company recently received a ne
franchise, which extends tn us
to thirty years, and soon after the gran
ich ing of the franchise, the street C
is service was curtailed, with the resi-
that much criticism Of the city c
fcials was expressed.
thu The Mayor of Kansas City has I
any fused to increase the license tax
hat automobiles.
ri