Daily Yellowstone journal., 1890-06-07
NOVEL SYSTEM OF RAILROAD FARES.
In Hungary One Can Travel 500 Miles for
the same Price as $50.

the same Price ss $50.
Suppose you could 20 from Prov.
incetown to san Francisco by rail for
80, 10 Chicago for $40, TO Omaha for
$l0i \ letter costs no more whether
it is bound for one place or the other.
What IT may lose on the long haul ii
makes up on the short Why cannot
transportation companies do the same.
Why not buy railway tickets as you
do postage stamps! Does all this seem
absurdi Yet a European country has
adopted a similar plan, and it is spread
ing throughout continental Europe.
The change Il which | refer is a
novel system of railway charges which
is in operation in Hungary. The expert.
ment, though radical, has apparently
been successful. Passenger rates on a
majority of the Hungarian roads are
no longer based upos the cost of serv.
ice, or upon what the traffic will bear,
or even upon the mileage. The rates
are regulated according TO the zone
system" This system has been advo.
Gated by economists in Austria and
Germany for some years, but none of
the railroad companies was inclined to
take it up. The state railroads of Hun.
gary, however, had been doing badly
under the old system; the earnings
fell from 81, 300a mile in 1887 to 81, 600
in 1855, and the government felt that
matters could not be worse than they
were.
The zon system of charges is based
upon the theory that there are two
classes OF passenger traffic which can
be increased in volume-the passen-
gers travelling a very short distance
and those going a vcry long distance.
The former are generally provided for
Oh railroads by communication rates:
the latter have no, received attention
heretofore. \ ia 'thcr point advanced
by the advocates of the zone system il
that where the ar> are no occupied
10 their full opacity an increase of
traffic necCSsl1 les only an lnliuitesl.
MAJ Increase O. expenses. The advo-
Gates yi the system, therefore, pro
posed three Lpncs-a short one, "A long
one aud a medium one. The Hun
garian railroads extended the idea
somewhat ~ issuing two classes of
tickets, tlU,. for zones and those for
short distances. In the latter class
We're two tickets. u carrying the
holder Ia the mex station, and sold for
FIVE cents, seven and "A half cents and
fifteen cents for third. second and first
class. and another carrying the holder
10 the second station for seven and a
half, eleven and twenty cents for the
three CLASSES. respectively.
These tickets are good between any
two contiguous station, without regard
10 tie actual distance, and are sold in
bulk al ) aud 10 per cent. discount
The zones are fourteen III number. the
circles being drawn about ten miles
apaI'. The fourteenth zone includes
all distance, Of 40 miles and over.
Tie rate for the first zone is very low
less than srvcn-tentlIs of "a cent q
mile for the lowest class, and one aud
six tentlIs cent, for first class express
and increases more than IN proper
ton To the distance through the diff.
ferent zones until the rate at the four
teenth ranges from u cent To two
and one-hali cents per mile for the lac
miles. Beyond this the rate again dc.
c~reascs, owing to the fact that any ad,
ditional distance i, not charged fur
Thus a trip Of several hundred miles
may be made forthc same price as one
OF 40.
This innovation went into effect
Aug. /. lss9, and was introduced on
the state iincs-about one-haif of the
total mileage of tine country. Two
private companies have since adopted
the zone system. During the first
month of the new tariff the number
Of passengers carried on the state
lines was increased half a million and
the passenger receipts were increased
about 300, 900.
From the report of the Austro-Hun.
garian minister of it ap.
pears that the passenger receipts Of
the Hungarian railways for 1889 were
30. 1853, l05 forms, an increase Of nearly
a million of forms over those Of 1855
this in 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 extra.
ordinary reduction aud extraordinary
increase have excited the amazement
of the railway world. Several foreign
railways have sent representatives To
Hungary to examine into the results
OF the change and report on them
Cape Cod Item.
They Persist In Wearing Tails.