Page:Omnibuses and Cabs.djvu/157

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CHAPTER XI

"Jumpers"—"Spots"—Some curious passengers—Conductors and coachmen—The Rothschild Christmas-boxes—Mr. Morris Abrahams and the Omnibus Men's Superannuation Fund—Horses—Cost of omnibuses—Night in an omnibus yard.

It is said, frequently, that omnibus companies and proprietors have received little or no benefit from the introduction of the ticket system because of the expense connected with the working of it, but that is a very great mistake. The London General Omnibus Company saves £100,000 a year by it, and the other companies and associations have just as much cause for satisfaction. But it must be confessed that at the outset the ticket system was more or less a farce, the conductors omitting openly to give tickets and being encouraged in their breach of duty by the lower class of riders. Some conductors flung away their rolls of tickets and declared that they had been stolen. Others placed them under the omnibus wheels to be crushed, and then pretended that the damage

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