Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-09-28
MOTOR BUS FOR
CITY SERVICE
NOW PRACTICAL
M any Inconvenience Of
Steam and Electric Train
Overcome by New Case
line "Jitney."

The motor bus, the outgrowth of
the American "jitney" with the adop-
ton of certain principles of the
English omnibus, is growing in I'M
portance as a public carrier. Its
services are inter as we'll as intra-
| urban. The responsibility and lack
of business methods of the pioneer
",itney" operators, has given way to
the carefully >and efficiently con-
| Quoted operation of the motor bus
of today. The latter is as different
from the "jitney" of 10 years ago as
the railroad of today is from the
railroad of SO years ago. No longer
is there ignorant rate cutting, infe-
rior equipment and reckless opera
ton. These features in recent times
have been in a large mea sure COM
pletely reversed.
When a car or train develops
mechanical difficulty which prevents
its further progress, all the succeed,
ing cars, or trains are delayed until
the disabled car is repaired or re-
moved. Not so with the motor bus
"a breakdown only ties up the one
bus. Succeeding buses merely pass
around the disabled bus and the
schedule suffers but little.
Allows City Development.
As a community. develops, its
transportation needs develop. The
common electric carriers of our
modern cities either under or over
develop their service. Over-develop-
ment results in greater outlay of
capital than is essential. Service
which is maintained beyond the
areas of need, is not self-sustaining
and forces the service in the dense
ly populated areas to carry the
losses. The passengers of the
profitable part of the line there
fore, do not receive the best serv-
ice that their fare might purchase.
The motor bus, on the other hand,
can extend its route just as slow
ly or as quickly as requirements
demand, thus giving its passengers
full return for their fare.
Cities may 5ecome over crowded,
and while the re is territory for ex-
pansion, this expansion does not
occur or is very slow. Such con-
ditions may lie caused by deficient
or too dista Mt transportation. A
person prefers to live within a
comparatively short distance from
a transportation agency that will
take him to his work without delay
and in comfort. Where traction Of
ficials have been shorttsighted, city
expansion has been retarded. The
motor bus. I'm is so cheap in COM
parison to other transportation
units, that it can be sent into ter
ritory for development purposes,
at fraction of the cost of trac-
ton units. With the present con-
gested conditions in cities, this is an
important consideration.
The motor bus, being smaller in
size. and lighter, per passenger, in
weight, than the common electric
carriers. is the logical transportation
agency in crowded or narrow streets. |
In such streets, surface cars running
down the center, crowd traffic caus-
ing congestion and accidents. Motor
busses run as does ordinary
traffic, thus minimizing traffic con-
gestion. When the storage battery
cars which ware run through the
crowded Ea:,t Side Of New
York City were taken off by
the new York City car lines
receiver, Mayor Hylan immedi-
ately substituted motor buses
These buses have been in operation