jitney

[nyinstitute]

try Atlantic City, Philly ('40s)
----- Original Message -----
From: "Drew Danielson" <drew.danielson at CMU.EDU>
To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Sent: Sunday, December 10, 2000 2:19 PM
Subject: jitney


> OK, first let me acknowledge that my grammar tanked in my last message.
> I hereby "grammar-flame" myself.
>
> I did some reading on the word "jitney" yesterday.  From what I was able
> to dig up on the Internet, it generally refers to independently-owned or
> private vans or small buses that usually follow a fixed route.  But
> sites that describe a "jitney" in Pittsburgh consistently refer to
> independently-owned, for-hire cars (with drivers).  In an informal
> interview with a Pittsburgher at the gas station where I bought some
> cigarettes last night the gentleman stated, "Pittsburgh's cornered the
> market on jitneys."
>
> I wasn't able to find this definition in connection to other cities
> (searching on google.com for "jitney" "[name of city]").  The Victoria
> Transport Policy Institute defines "jitney" thusly, "[j]itney services
> use vans or small buses to provide self-financing, privately operated
> transit service."  In this case, it's used as a technical term for a
> type of shuttle service.
>
> Note:  In my searching, I found that there's a play by August Wilson
> about a Pittsburgh jitney driver currently playing on Broadway (it's
> called: "Jitney").
>