New-York tribune., 1919-10-06
First Instance of Operation
in Brooklyn; Route
to North River Replaces
A b II d oned Traction
Nixon Conference To-day
No Acceptance From City
Officials; Service Board
Head Working Out Plan

dozen large automobile buses ran
through Canal Street at intervals of
five minutes yesterday inaugurating
the city's fifth and most successful
jitney transportation line. The sys-
tenn, operating over the route aban-
doned by the Brooklyn North River
Railroad Company, was set in motion
at O'Clock in the morning, and by
nightfall, it was estimated, had carried
about four thousand passengers.
The bus line runs from the Flatbush
Avenue extension at Fulton Street,
Brooklyn, across the Manhattan Bridge,
through Canal Street to Vestry Street,
to Greenwich Street, to the Desbrosses
Street Ferry. The route is covered in
about twenty minutes, or ten minutes
less than it took the traction cars.
Grover A. Whalen, Commissioner Of
Plant and Structures, has supervision
of the line, and an employe of his Of
fee was stationed yesterday at each
terminal to check up the cars and
the number OF passengers and to send
the buses off on schedule time. Po-
licemen kept separate tally.
Many Of the automobiles bore the
names Of the Jersey towns where they
were operated formerly. Their driv-
ers, after speeding over the new route,
complained about the bad condition of
the roads in some places and declared
they would go back to Kearney, N. j.,
and points West if they were not trans
fcrred to better lines.
Congressman Frederick w. Rowe,
president Of the Three Cent Line,
operating over the Manhattan Bridge,
declared that the subways and elevated
lines had gained half OF the patronage
of the North River line. while the
Three Cent Line and the new buses
the Three-Cent Line and the buses
would carry between 1000 and G,00O
passengers daily from this source.
Establishment Of still another line
running through Borough Park, Brook
lyn. viii be urged upon Borough Presi-
dent Rlegemann this morning by the
Transit League Of South Brooklyn,
which met at the Sea Beach Demo
cratic Club yesterday.
The proposed line would run along
Eighteenth Avenue from Flatbush Ave
nue. TO Cropscy Avenue in Bensonhurst,
distance of four miles. 1t is pro
posed to establish a transfer point at
Fifty-second Street and Eighteenth
Avenue. The line would run along
Fifty second Street to Fourth Avenue.
where it would branch off. one line GO
ing to the Thirty ninth Street Ferry.
the other to the Staten Island Ferry at
Sixty ninth Street
Proposed Route Inspected
Cornelius Sheehan, Deputy Commits
sioner of Water Supply in charge of
Brooklyn, and William Pickarc, preei-
dent Of the Transit League, went over
the proposed route for the buses and
declared it would be a success and a
paying proposition.
Lewis Nixon. Public Service Commits
sloner will hold a conference with every
important traction official at his of
fees to-day.
No word has been received from the
officials of an intention Of being
repre- sentcc.
Commissioner Nixon last night. at
Wcstbury, l.. l.. declared that his aim
in the conference would be to take
traction out Of politics and to re-
move it also from the realm Of specu-
latve Investments. He said he had
not FORMULATED his specific plan for
accomplishing these ends, but would
probably finish it to-day
brooklyn Rapid Transit; Frederick P
Royce, its general manager; T. S. Will
Jams, president. and officials Of the
Brooklyn City Railroad Company will
attend the conferences