The age-herald., 1898-03-12
GREATER LONDON
 THE SUBJECT Of Transporting Population of the Great Cities.
GREAT ARMY OF TRAVELLERS
Figures Showing the Huge Movement on Lines Tn New York and London New York EIe- vated and Surface Railways Trans
 port 600, 100000 Passen-
 gers Annually.
From the Philadelphia Inquirer.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer.
 New York, March 1.-The talk about
 rapid transit is incessant. Will it ever end,
 some people ask? The answer is: Never
 in the great modern cities of the world.
 This seems a somewhat startling conclus-
 ion, but the facts point in this direction.
 Few of those people even who have closely
 followed such matters appreciate the mag
 nitude of these latter-day problems of
 transportation as found in such cities as
 London, New York and Paris where in
 1900 the combined demand for rapid transit
 will be equivalent to transporting annually
 the entire population of the earth. How
 many people realize that in New York as
 now constituted the elevated and surface
 Streeb railways, including the borough of
 Brooklyn, carry annually 600, 900 passen-
 gers, a number greater by several millions
 than the highest ever carried by our two hundred thousand miles of steam railways,
 which in 1893 aggregated 593, 000,000 passen-
 gers?
 To be sure, the distance these passengers
 are carried Is small but the street rail-
 ways of New York come in contact on an
 average with every inhabitant two hun
 dred times per annum. Here we have con-
 centrated in small territory transpor
 tation business numerically equivalent to
 that performed by the entire railway sys-
 tenn of the United States. With the in- =
 an increase in the desire or necessity for getting about more quickly, and hence with these two distinct lines of increase pressing upon the facilities of rapid transit 1t becomes doubtful if the supply in this industry ever will, in our generation, fully catch up with the demand
 In thirty years-1S62 to 1S92-the traffic of London, carried by the several means of communication, increased from 100000 to 4a0 100000 This traffic should have been in the neighborhood of 900, ,000 900, or say by the close of the century the round and easily to be remembered thousand million of passengers. The bulk of the London traffic goes by omnibus, or over 326, ,000,0OO passengers annually 225, GOO, GOO passengers are carried by the tramways and probably
 100, ,000000 by the underground railwayrt, total 651 000,000. As these figures are. for 1895 and several improvements and eXten- sions have been inaugurated since then it may be safe to put this passenger traffic of London at 700 900, 900 and of New York at 600, GOO 600. In this a liberal allowance is made for the large numbers carried In cabs and all other conveyances, and yer we find that the present methods of rapid transit in London will be about three hun dred million per anmum short of taking care of it's legitimate passenger traffic at the close of 1900, and that if judged by the standard of New York, London will have in the nepihborhood of 500,000,0OO passengers who in the course of the year use either the steam railways walk, who, with proper facilities could be picked up by an adequate system of rapid transit.
 London is probably the most fascinating field in the world to study the subject or rapid transit and yet how many Ameri- cans visiting the worlds metropolis declare they have 1t not in that city. If, how ever. the population of London decided to follow New York and take an average of two hundred rides per annum on It's Varl- ous forms of street transportation 1t would necessitate the annual moving of at least 1 O0O 0OO O00 people. As matter or 1act tbe average is not as great, though one of the most eminent authorities in the world on this subject estimates that in 1901 the demand in London will be about lS5 rides her annum for each inhabitant. It will be of interest to ascertain the basis Of this estimate
 ried Inv internal es-omnibuses, the two metropolitan railways, the few tramways then in existence and the Road car-numbered 54,00O, ,0O0, and the population about 1000 900, each inhabitant trayeling, on an average, IS times In year. In 1914, the ratio of passenger sto population increased to 45: in 1884 it had increased to IS; in lSS9 to go. and in 1892 to 114 times in the year. These are the last detailed figures avail able. but as the rate of increase has ap- parently been uniform for generation 1t is easily estimated and we find an increase in seven years of 400 000, 900 more passengers a year to be carried in London. Is 1t sur prising that with what may be termed double increase-that Is, increase of popu- lation and increased demand of the whole population for more transportation-presen methods of communication are overcrowded with traffic at the busy hours when most people travel?
 The number who walk into London every day is tremendous. In 1891, according to the day census then taken, 1,10O6i6 persons enter the city of London on foot, which means an annual stream of humanity of over 300,000 900, after allowing for Sundays and holidays. To this must be added the flow into the city from all parts of the compass through the various stations of the great railways, all of which do more or less suburban business. No less than 100 900 persons per day use Liverpool Street station, and Broad station 75,000. By way of London Bridge over 00,000 persons enter and leave the city every day of the year. except Sundays and holidays. At some Of these points traffic is so stupendous t'lat at times it is practically obstructed. Many of the great railway systems connect at their main termini with the underground and others are now promoting parliament tary powers to enable them to reach the 1 city without hindrance with their subur- ban passengers. The Great Northern and Kings Cross and the Midland at St. Pan cras connect with the Metropolitan Dis trict railway. So does the Great Vest ern at Paddington. At Kensington and Brompton several western and southwest | ern railways make a joint connection with 1 the metropolitan district. At Victoria the 1 London, Brighton and South Coast and London and Southwestern land passengers | Into the Victoria M. D. R. R. station. Nor