Jitney focuses on the denizens of an impoverished gypsy cab station in 1977 Pittsburgh: Becker, the uptight boss; Doub, the Korean War vet with a hairtrigger temper; Youngblood, the kid trying to build a life with his girlfriend, Rena ; Turnbo, the office gossip; and Fielding, whose thoughts tend toward the poetic and who keeps a secret bottle of pick-me-up in his jacket pocket. Facing extinction due to a bad economy and an upcoming urban renewal project, they all have different reactions to their fate.