BusTalk

[Mr. Linsky]

Some time back I received a lovely email from a young lady who told me that her Great Grandfather John Traynor worked for Green Bus Lines and, while she never knew him, she wondered if I knew anything about him - my answer is below;


Megan,

You've come to the right source (actually, a million to one shot).

I knew John Traynor quite well during my three summers as a relief driver for Green Line while in college in the late fifties.

He was a rather tall, good looking man with a chiseled face and was soft spoken albeit with an Irish brogue that you could cut with a knife (we used to tease him about that).

When we worked split shifts a group of us would meet for coffee in the ready room at the garage early in the morning and John was always there telling us about the old days - he loved to reminisce.

When there was no car available to take him to his assigned post for the rush hour he opted to ride with me on my bus.

A little history.

John was one of several hundred or more independent 'jitney' drivers (mostly Jewish, Irish and Italian immigrants) that eked out livings back in the teens and early twenties by running small eight to ten passenger buses (they were really a cross between a taxi and a bus) up and down the avenues of Manhattan picking up fares at a nickel a piece (that's where the word 'jitney' comes from).

While they were unlicensed wildcats running without any permits, the city turned a blind eye to them because they were performing a public service especially on thoroughfares that had no trolley service (regular bus services didn't really begin in earnest in New York until the mid to late twenties).

It was at that time that the city began to seriously police the routes, require franchises and oversee regularly schedule services by responsible operators.

In 1925, John along with as many as 100 of these independents formed Green Bus Lines, Inc. and each of the participants was issued stock equal to what investment they made in the venture - they all became 'stockholder drivers'.

The company toiled in Manhattan serving six crosstown routes until 1936 when they traded them for soon to be lucrative lines in southern Queens County.

At some point later down the road, John was promoted to a gold badge 'Starter' and supervised the routes checking times and helping with rear door collections during rush hours.

I don't remember the last time I saw John (probably in 1961) but I do remember what a nice gentleman he was.

Thank you for your inquiry.

A. Linsky