New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-05-04
A NOVEL SYSTEM or RAILROAD FARES
From The Cape Cod Item.


suppose you could 90 from Provincetown to san
Francsco BY rail for $40 to Chicago for $40 10 Omaha
for $40? letter costs no more whether 1t IS bound
| for place or the other What 1t ose Oh tho
| long haul II makes the shori. Why cannot
transportation companies DO the same Why not buy
railway tickets you DO postage stamps Does all
| this absurd Yet European country has
adopted similar plan, and 1t Is Spreading throughout
The change 10 which refer Is "a novel sy.tem Of
railway charges which has been in operation In Hun
gary for little more, than ok months The cxpeii-
mcnt, though radical. has apparently been successful
Passenger rates on majority Of the Hungarian roads
what the traffic will bear. even upon the mileage.
The rates regulated according 10 the zone sys
| tenn This system has been advocated by econo
mlsts IN Austria and Germany for but none
OF the railroad companies inclined take IL up
Inc state railroads Of Hungary however. had been
doing badly under the old system the .ariinss fen
from ~ 800 me In 1857 to II 900 IN 1850 and the
Government felt that matters could be worse than
| they
The zone system Of charges based npon the theory
that there two ca,se, of passenger traffic which
can be Increased in volumetle passengers Travelling
| very short distance and tho,e going very long
distance Inc former are generally provided for on
railroads by communication rates: the latter have not
| received attention heretofore a further point ad
vanccd by the advocates Of the zone system - that
where the car, are not occupied their full capacity
an increase Of traffic necessilaos only inhntc,Ima
Increase Of expenses. The al yocar, of the stem.
therefore, proposed three yones-a short one = long
one, ana a medium one The hungarian railroad,
tickets for zone, and those for short distance.
In the latter class were two tickets carrying The
and IL cents for third second and first cla,.
and another carrying tie holder the second station
for : -, ii and 20 cents for the three classes.
respectively. These tickets are kood between any
contiguous stations without regard 10 the actual
distance and are sold In bulk AT and per cent
disCouGt. The zones are fourteen in number. the
circles being drawn about ten miles apart. The
fourteenth zone includes all distance, Of 40 miles and
The rate for the first zone Is very lOw-lrss
than cnths OF cent mile for the lowest class.
and and slXtht"ths cents for first elias expires
and increases more than ia proportion to the distance
through the different zones until the rate at the
fourteenth ranges from cent 10 = cents per mile
for the 40 miles. Beyond this the rate again de
crcascs owing 10 the fact that any additional dis
lance is not charged for. Thus trip Of several
hundred miles may be made for the same price
Of 40.
This innovation went into effect August ! OF last
year and introduced the state lncS--abOut
one half Of the total mileage Of the country. Two
nrvatp companies have since adOpted the zone syS
lem During the first month Of the new tariff the
nnmhcr Of passengers carried on the State lines
inc half million, and the passenger receipts
were Increased about 100000
Al the present writing the report Of the AustrO-
Hungarian Minister Of Commerce Is Just to hand From
This report IL appears that the pa cngcr receipts Of
The Hungarian railways for 49, were 521 3d. o.
snrjns an increase Of nearly million OF forms
those Of This In the face Of reduction Of rates
enuaI 10 more than 80 per cent. The new system
vas in effect during only five months Of 1889 This
extraordlrary reduction and extraordinary increase
have excited the ama1ement Of the railway world.
Several foreign railways have representatives 10
Hungary TO examine INTO the results OF the change
and report on th'm