Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1891-01-30
THE "ZONETARIFF."
How Railway Fares Have Boon
Greatly Reduced in Hungary.

A recent number of the Century mag
czinc contains an article on the system
recently adopted in Hungary for mini
flying and regulating the passenger
rates on railroads in that country. The
writer says:
For the method If ballot reform
which is SO widely -dopted we are in
debtcd to Australia; and now from
Hungary we have a suggestion of re-
form in railway management which
promises to revOlutionize the passenger
business.
The Zone tariff" as it is called, was
put in operation in Hungary on the list
of August, 1889. 1t has, therefore, but
brief experience to justify its practi-
cability: but the results thus far have
been so remarkable that its success
seems 10 be assured. The method con-
sists of a division of the territory of
Hungary into fourteen cOnccntric zones,
budapest, the capital, being the center.
The first zone includes all stations
within p kilOmeters-16ls miles-from
the center; the second, all more than %
and less than 40; all the zones except
the first. the twelfth and the thirteenth
are Is kilometers, or a little more than
miles in width; the three named are
% hilometers in breadth, and the four
teen includes all stations more than 225
kiiometers from the capital. The fare
Is regulated by the number of zones
which the traveller enters or crosses
during his journey. Reducing guldens
to cents, the rate is 20, 16 and 10 cents
per zone, for first, second and third-class
passengers. respectively. If one starts
from Budapest and crosses three zones
he travels, therefore, So kilometers, or
about "a miles; if he goes first-class, his
fare will be 60 cents; if second-class, 4S
cents: if third-class, 30 cents.
For local traffic, when the traveller
does not cross the boundary of any zone,
there are special rates; if he goes only
to the nearest station, the charges will
be IL, 6. and cents; if to the second
station from his starting point, 16, ., and
6 cents: if to the third station, the full
rates of the zone are charged.
The greatest reduction, however. is
in the long distances. For all stations
more than 225 kilometers-15O miles
from Budapest the rates are the same.
All stations beyond that distance are
reckoncd in the fourteenth zone. 1t
costs no more to travel from Budapest
to Brasso, which is 729 kilometers dis
tant, than to Macy Varad, the distance
of which is only 245 kilometers. To
this farthcst point, 4i2 miles from the
capital, the fares of the three classes
are, for ordinary trains, 800, S2.32, and
SLIGO. At this rate the first-class fare
from New York to Chicago would be
only about 500; and the third-class
fare about $3.50.
The former rates of the Hungarian
railways between the two points now
under consideration were S16.S4, S11.56,
and S7.6S. The fare is, therefore, less
than one-fifth of what it was under the
old system.
1t is in these long distances that the
reduction is most sweeping; but even
the shorter journeys are greatly cheap
ened. To Arad, which is 253 kilometers
from Budapest, the former fare for the
three classes was S6.16, $3.50 and So. OS;
the present fare is $500, $3.50 and SLIGO,
q reduction of almost 50 per cent.
Besides the reduction in rates, the
new system offers great advantages in
the way of convenience and simplifica-
ton. The number of distinct tickets
always kept on sale in every important
hotel Office was formerly about 700; the
greatest number required in any Office
Is now only 81. This reduces consider
ably the expense of printing and hand
ling tickets. They are now sold like
postage stamps, at news stands, post
Offices, hotels, cigar shops and other
such places. Any traveller knows what
his fare will be if he knows how many
zones he is to cross; he simply multi
plies the number of the zones he is to
enter or cross by the normal rate of
fare per zone, which is, as has been ex-
planned, twenty, sixteen and ten cents
for the three classes respectively.
For large number of places within
fifty-five kilometers of Budapest ticket
books containing from thirty to sixty
tickets are issued at rates still lower.
Thus for group of stations averaging
about twenty-One miles from Budapest
books are sold which make the trip
fares sixteen, twelve and eight cents.
These books are transferable, and the
owner of the book may pay with these
tickets the fares of persons accompany
ing him. Evidently tie purpose Of this
system is to extend these concessions
and conveniences as widely as possible,
,pf in 20,
and circumscribe them SO that the small
est number .; people shall get the ad
vantage of them.
The reader will be interested in know
ing what response has been made by the
Hungarian public to these liberal meas
ures. The Hungarian public is not par
ticularly responsive, the population of
the country is sparse, they are poor,
unenterprising. housekeeping people;
but they seem to know a good thing
when they see it The increase in the
passenger traffic has been very great
For the first eight months of the new
system the number of passengers car
ried was z, 77O. SIG; for the corresponding
months of the previous year the num-
Der carried was 2,s9l,33a. It may be
supposed that this increase was mainly
due to the great reduction in the long
distance rates. On the contrary, the
gain is the largest in the traffic between
neighboring stations OF such pas
sengers there were under the oldsystem
2S5, 900: under the new, ,S67, $50.
This vast increase of business has
also been accompanied by substantial
increase of revenues. Comparing the
receipts from passengers and baggage
of the first six months of the new sys-
tenn with the corresponding months of
the previous year, we find a gain of
1861, $50. 1t is also stated that there
has been no material increase in oper-
ating expenses Under the old system
the cars were not often more than one.
third full
1t is not to be wondered at that rail-
way managers from all parts of the
world are fastening to Hungary to
study on the ground this remarkable
phenomenon 1t is to be hoped that