Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-06-14
A Novel System of Railroad Fares.

From the Cape Cod Item.
Suppose you could go from Provincetown to
San Francisco by rail for s1O, to Chicago for
S10 to Omaha for so? letter costs no more
whether it is bound for one place or the other.
What it may lose on the long haul it makes Up
on the short. Why cannot transportation COM
panies do the same? Why not buy railway
tickets as you do postage stamps? Does all this
seem absurd? Yet European country has
adopted similar plan, and it is spreading
throughout continental Europe.
The change to which refer is a novel system
of railway charges which has been in operation
in Hungary for a little more than six months
The experiment. though radical, has apparently
been successful. Passenger rates on "A majority
of the Hungarian roads are no longer based
upon the cost of service. or upon what the
traffic will bear, even upon tie mileage. The
rates are regulated according to the zone sys-
tenn" This system has been advocated by econ
omists in Austria and Germany for some years,
but none OF the railroad companies in
clined to take IL up. The state railroads of
Hungary however. lad been doing badly under
the old systematic earnings fell from 81, 300
a mile i'll 1887 to 81 900 in 1883, and the govern
ment felt that matters could not be worse than
they were.
The zone system of charges is based upon the
theory that there are two classes of passenger
traffic which can be increased in volume-the
passengers travelling a very short distance and
tnOse gong very long distance. Inc former
are generally provided tor on railroads by CON-
mutation rates; the latter have not received at
tention heretofore. further point advanced
by the advocates of the zone system is that
where the cars ara not occupied to their full
capacity an increase of traffic necessitates only
an lntinlteslmal increase of expenses. The ad-
yocates of the system therefore, propose three
Zones-a short one long one and "a medium
one. The Hungarian railroads extended the
idea somewhat by issuing two classes of tickets,
those for zones and those for short distances
In the latter class were two tickets, one carry
ing the holder to the next station, and sold for
D cents, ~ cents and 10 cents for third
second and first class, and another
carrying the holder to the second station
for IL, ii and 90 cents for the three classes
respectively. These tickets are good between
any two contiguous stations without regard to
the actual distance, and are sold IN bulk at
and 10 per cen. discount. The zones are four
teen in number, the circles being drawn about
ten miles apart. The fourteenth zone includes
all distances of 140 miles and over. The rate
for the first zone Is very low-less than seven
tenths of a cent q mile for the lowest class and
one and six-tenths cents for tirst-class express
and increases more than In proportion to the
distance through the different zones until the
rate at the fourteenth ranges from / cent to "a
cents per mile for the l4O miles. Beyond this the
rate again decreases. owing to the fact that any
additional distance Is not charged for. Thus
a trip of several huldred miles may be made
Tor the same price one of li0.
This innovation y ut into effect August OF
last year and Inti 81 ed OH the state lines
about One-halt - .o:@l mileage of the
country. Two pr companies have since
adopted the IONS sem During the first
month OF the new tar I the number of pas
sengers carried on til, state lines was increased
half million and the passenger receipts were
increased about Sl00,0C0.
At the present writiA- the report Of the
Austro- Hungarian minister If commerce is lust
to hand. From this report 1t appears that the
passenger receipts OF the Hungarian railways
for 1883 were 81, I53. los horins, an increase of
nearly million of forms over those of 1888,
this i'll the face OF a reduction of rates equal to
more than so per cent. The new system was
in effect during only five months Of 1889. This
extraordinary reduction and extraordinary in
crease have excited the amaZement of the rail-
way world. Several foreign railways have sent
representatives to Hungary to examine into the
results Of the change and report on them.