JOURNALISTIC BUSES

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 26, 31 January 1923, Page 14

JOURNALISTIC BUSES

CIRCULATION AND TRANSPORT

LATEST METHOD OF SELLING

NEWSPAPERS.

I

The shopping district o{ Manhattan is to be invaded by the journalistio bus system invented by Charles Bright, of Elmhurst, and now running in Brownsville, says the "New' York Times." 1 Forty buses will run over a kite-shaped-route, not , yet made out in detail, but taking in. Times Square, Broadway to Wanamaker's and baok on Fifth Ayemis in the daytime. The bus syftem will do' short hauls in the whit© lkht tfistriot in the evening. / , it "Biding in these buses will be strieay invitational, as it is now on my bus route in Brownsville," said Mr. Bright to a reportes. "Nobody can pay to rids in them, but anybody who buys my little newspaper may have a free ride. These buses mil make a loop of the shopping district in tile daytime, taking in the Pennsylvania Station and the Grand Central. Anybody who has a, copy of my paper can wave it and stop the bus, tew off an ear, give it to the driver, and h«.ve a ride at my expense." Bright, who testified before the Transit Commission, shocked that body by hie, careless _ talk of tearing off ears, bub "ears" is a technical word in the special vocabulary which has already accumulated about the literary traction business invented by Mr. Bright. The "ear" is the upper right-hand corner of the front page and the upper rip;ht-hind corner of the baok page of his eight-page bi-week-ly journal, the "Brownsville /Special." On each ear is a printed invitation to ride on one of Mr. Bright's 150 buses «t his expanse. This periodical sells for 10 oentS' a copy. '

"The bus stops any time you ware a. 'Brownsville Special' at it," said Mr, Bright. - "If you have no copy of thii publication, you can obtain- a ride by.subscribing for it, as you enter thei bus. The driver 1 has subscription blanks which sell for 50 cents. Old subscribers are per-^ mitted tio do this, but anybody who does not understand the system is told to drop in at the nearest store and buy a paper. We "soon found we could not afford tho time to stop and explain thingß to people who do not- understand tho system. Wo iust put them off and they can make inquiries at the nearest store. Every store along the route carries these papers for- sale and many of them advertise in it. I run fifty buses or coaches and have no franchise or permit and do not need any. I am not a common oafrier. I handle selected passengers by invitation. They cannot put me off-thfl streets, as things now stand, and they oannot legislate me off. The legislature cannot pass any constitutional act thafc will hurt my business. I have taken tho matter up with several department stores in Manhattan, and have received suoh encouragement that within a month or two I will put my first set _of ooacheg, forty or more, doing a loop in the.shopping district.

"I am not primarily a transportation man. I am a civil engineer, and twentyfive years ago I built and owned a street railway system in Buenos Aires. I am not a journalist either, and am building up the 'Specialist' without '■ muoh experienoe. When. I- .get running my shopping and White Light ser/Hce I intend to publish light comment on thjngs that would interest the .people who ride in' that part of the city, and I will need the services of some bright, energetio young man in the news line.

There is. nothing new about what I am doing. It is a very old thing. The daily papers of Boston did, it thirty years ago. It was natural for me to adopt this means of increasing the circulation of the paper. When Igo into Manhattan'l in™is '? ,inßUre th« livos of subscribers for 1000 dollars cash. The papers will not only contain the invitation ears, but coupons whioh oan be torn off and paid down «s premiums on the life insurance " Mr. Bright told the Transit Commission that he believed all newspapers would shortly adopt this idea. ( Explaining the reason for issuing 'subscriptions for no more than tho next' five forthcoming copies, the traotioi.. .press magnate continued:— ....

"If we Bent it by . mail,' especially in that district, about half the papers Would be lost or stolen. As jt is they go to the corner.grocery store and tear off on» of these coupons. They get a paper %t the time when they want it: Sometimes they take it-when .they are going home, jnd that is why we have two rides on the paper, to make it valuable to the advertiser." '

"Is the grocer paid any commission lor his services?" asked the chairman of the ■transit Commission.. '

"None whatever. He does it as a matter of convenience," said Mr. Bright. He added that he made no money through the sale of newspapers," but only through the adverhsing, and that he was not making a great deal of money so far . £ don * . expect .to' make 1 any money in Brownsville," he said, "but I got up thei pJan and talked it over with all tha leading department stores here two or three years ago. and I am going to put it into effeot in New York. That •• ia where I expeot to make 6ome money "~ b • r a,ddi tiol l to local information, Mr. Bright s Brownsville newspaper gave some autobiographical material. One £,i the October issues has a informative and highly illustrated acoount of the surface oar system which Mr. Bright installed at Buenos Aires.