New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-09-29
TRANSFERS BY WHOLESALE.
THE EXTENSIVE SYSTEM ADOPTED BY THE
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS COMPANY.
MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED TRANSFERS POSI-
BILE AT MORE THAN THIRTY DIFFERENT
PoINTs-THE COMPANIES MOTIVE
HOW THE NEW ARRANGEMENT
HAS BEEN GRADUALLY
INTRODUCED.

INTRODUCED.
One does not have to be very old Brookynite
| and membership In the Old Brooklynites' So
cety is conditioned upon a residence Of fifty years
in the city-o recall the time when on the street.
car lines of Brooklyn there just one point where
| a passenger could transfer from one line to an
| other without the payment OF an extra fare. That
| was at the intersection OF Flushing and Casson
aves where for years certain individual stood on
the corner with transfer tickets in his hand which
he doled out none too willingly to those who asked
| for them. The transfer tickets were good in only
one direction; people going uptown In Flushing
ave. could take Greenpoint car In Classon-ave.
| and those Greenpoint car going downtown had
| the privilege of riding in Fushng-ave. car going
I toward Fulton Ferry.
| Why this arrangement was made no one seemed
to understand, for certainly single transfer point
| was contrary to the policy OF the Brooklyn City
| Railroad Company. which had a monopoly OF travel
the greater part OF the city and did not hesi
tate to take In many fve-cent pieces as could
be squeezed out OF patrons In those days II had
no occasion to cater to the public by supplying
superior service granting exceptional privileges
People who wished to travel about the city had no
choice but to take its cars Why II should transfer
passengers free at even a single place was mys-
| terry which the public never tried to penetrate.
Then, nearly ten years ago. came the elevated
| roads which rendered considerable proportion Of
| the population Independent OF the surface lines.
One OF them, too, built a number OF branches and
granted the privilege OF riding over all OF them In
| return for the payment Of fare Of five cents.
Indeed. liberal is the Brooklyn Elevated Rail
| road Company that with little ingenuity. by
| changing cars here and there and walking from
side Of station platform TO the other. one could
ride forever in It's cars after paying In a single
nickel Such a system of course. tends to attract
travel. but the surface lines In Brooklyn have been
slow to upon the hint. 1t ought perhaps, to be
added that continuous travelling the lines OF
the Brooklyn Elevated road would not be possible
without the numerous intertrack stations which 1t
has constructed
THE NEW PLAN.
year or two ago the Brooklyn City. or Brooklyn
Heights Company decided to allow free trans
fers at few points where It's lines intersect. great
ly to the convenience OF the travelling public bu,
no general transfer system adopted until the
recent change In management occurred, when
more liberal policy at once agreed on. BY the
old method OF transfers empoye OF the COM
pany stood the street where trapsfer
station established and handed out tickets TO
those who applied for them. This expensive,
since had TO be stationed at all hours OF
day and night at every transfer point. and besides
It permitted some shrewd and unscrupuous people
TO take advantage OF the company at hours when
many people were travelling. and secure transfer
tickets by mingling with the bona fde passengers
and getting carried for nothing.
The new management decided TO place all trans
fer tickets In the hands OF the conductors and
to passengers to ask for transfers at the
time OF paying their fare. The extra burden on the
conductors is considerable. and II took little
time to educate them TO the responsibility
Hence the system put into operation
gradually beginning after July /. this year
few transfer points first announced. and
as the public and the conductors became
cusomed to the method these were added 10
from time to time. until now than hun
DO
other at thrty-odd points In the city.
To one unfamiliar with brooklyn the system
not but seem rather confusing. 1t is not so In
reality, however. In general II may be said that
a transfer can be had wherever two lines OF the
Heights Company cross each other, but owing to
the conformation OF the city and to the fact that