What the heck is a jitney anyway?

===WIKIPEDIA DEFINITION- Jitney (U.S. and Canada) ===A jitney is a North American English term which originally referred to a livery vehicle intermediate between a taxi and a bus.It is generally a small-capacity vehicle that follows a rough service route, but can go slightly out of its way to pick up and drop off passengers. In many U.S. cities (e.g. Pittsburgh and Detroit), the term jitney refers to an unlicensed taxi cab.

The name ''jitney'' comes from an archaic, colloquial term for a five-cent piece in the US.  The common fare for the service when it first came into use was five cents, so the ''five-cent cab'' or ''jitney cab'' came to be known for the price charged.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Share_taxi

====CITY OF HOUSTON'S ORDINANCE DEFINITION=======

"Jitney means a motorized passenger vehicle having a manufacturer's rated seating capacity of not less than four nor more than 15 passengers including the driver, that is operated upon a closed loop following specified streets and highways in a specified direction, and is operated without a fixed schedule, carrying passengers from place to place in exchange for a fee.