Jitneys launch 'Just Say No' campaign in A.C.

ATLANTIC CITY - The drivers of the resort's 190 jitneys are taking their campaign against a new casino shuttle to the streets.

Literally.

The Atlantic City Jitney Association announced Tuesday it is placing posters on each bus saying, "Don't let Harrah's crush AC jitney transportation. Just say no to Harrah's shuttle." The yellow placards picture a huge gorilla sitting on top of a jitney.

The association has also printed 20,000 postcards that drivers will hand out for riders to sign.

At issue are the free shuttle buses Harrah's Entertainment rolled out last month to ferry gamblers back and forth among the company's four Atlantic City casinos. The ride is free to anyone who shows a Total Rewards players-club card.

Jitney drivers say their fare revenues have gone down 35 to 50 percent since the Harrah's shuttles started running Oct. 16.

"We cannot and will not sit back and simply allow Harrah's to put a 90-year-old Atlantic City tradition out of business," association President Emmanuel "Manny" Mathioudakis said Tuesday in a released statement.

The 13-seat buses have been running in the resort since 1915. Drivers purchase a franchise, own and maintain their buses and keep the fares they collect.

The jitney drivers are also taking their message to the Internet, where their Web site,

face=+Bold; www.savethejitneys.comface=-Bold;

urges readers to boycott Harrah's Entertainment casinos, refuse to ride the shuttle and send letters to Harrah's executives and state and local legislators.

Contrary to earlier speculation, the jitney association said it is not planning any job actions such as a work stoppage.

Harrah's spokeswoman Alyce Parker said Tuesday she was not aware of the placard and Internet campaign. But she reiterated that Harrah's Entertainment negotiated with the jitney association for more than a year to run the shuttles.

The jitney drivers wanted $1 million more than Harrah's wanted to pay, Parker said. After receiving bids from several companies, Harrah's Entertainment decided to run the shuttles itself.

"We are still willing to talk with them," Parker said. "We have told them they can purchase those vehicles and run the shuttle service. We still have an open door."

But Mathioudakis said that "nothing can be further from the truth" than that claim. Harrah's never intended good-faith negotiations with the jitney drivers, and had already ordered the new buses when they were discussing arrangements with the jitney association, he said.

The jitney association never submitted a formal proposal to run the shuttle, but gave a price of $1.75 per trip, the lowest discount it is allowed to charge, according to a newsletter released last week.

"The fact of the matter is Harrah's is focused solely on corporate greed, not the small business owners in Atlantic City," Mathioudakis said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Parker said the free shuttles are popular with customers and "service is at high volume."

To e-mail Elaine Rose at The Press:

ERose@pressofac.com