New-York tribune., 1907-07-28
OVERCRoWDED SUBWAY.

The most overcrovded rapid transit line in the
city is the subway. Actual observation during a
specified period of rush hour traffic has shown
that only Al per cent of the passengers carried
on subway expresses were able TO find seats.
The reason for this was shown TO be the
fact that only eighteen trains were run 10 the
hour instead Of twenty-seYeu as called for by
the schedule the company is supposed TO live
Up to. 1t is not COntended that this reduction
tu the number Of trains is due to any deliberate
attempt at economy, but to the fact that the
company's facilities for handling heavy traffic
are not what they ought TO be and could be
made II actual experience in other places Is any
criterion.
Two specific remedies are proposed. One is
greater number Of seats to the car used and the
running of ten instead Of eight trains during
rush hours. The other is the use of cross seats
and side doors instead Of end doors, few cross
seats and the rest longitudinal, reducing the
seating capacity of the car to make room for
s+raYhangers The type Of car recommended
could be constructed TO provide one hundred
seats instead OF fifty two, the number in the
style Of car now in use. The maximum nuinber
Of seats provided during an hour by the present
subway service in cars travelling one way would
be IS SO if the schedule of trains was lived up
to. That number, however, falls as low as 1o'ozf'
owing to the failure of the company to run the
number Of trains called for during rush hours.
If the new type of were used and the present
schedule lived up to 10000 seats an hour one
way could be provided. This would be more
than enough to seat every passenger carried
IN hours Of heavy traffic, with no more trains
10 the hour than the present schedule calls Tor.
The experience of the Illinois Central Railroad
tn handling suburban traffic in and out of Chi
cago much greater than that Of the subway
shows that the use Of cars having side doors
with cross seats the entire length Of the car
has reduced station stops 70 an average Of
little over seven seconds, owing TO the faplolIF
with which the crowds enter and leave the
cars The average station stop on the subway
during hours OF heavy traffic IS about ffty-tWo
seconds, and these long stops account for the
inability Of the company TO run the number or
trains called for IN its schedule during rush
hours when they most needed. II the
length Of station stops was reduced from an
average OF flfty-two TO fifteen seconds, twice
the length Of stops which the Illinois Central
Company finds sufficient, by the use OF side door
cars with a greater seating capacity II would
be easily possible to run the number OF trains
TO the hour which the company Is now sup
nosed TO run BY these improvements alone
the subway equipment could be made to seat
every passenger carried during the busiest hours
of the day. BY lengthening the platforms ar
stations 10 accommodate ten car instead or
eight car trains an extra two hundred seats 70
every train could be secured a reductlon Ia
the length Of station stops below the average OF
fifteen seconds would permit an increase in the
number of trains run 10 the hour during busy
nertods This would mean further seating
canacity beyond the maximum number OF pas
sengers carried at present during the busiest
hours OF the day. It is evident, therefore that
unless the evidence gathered by the City Club
40 ali wrong the present crowded condition OF
subway trains during rush hours could be done
away with and every passenger carried couIu
have a seat More than that, a greater num-
ber Of seats than are now actually required
oorld be provided to meet the demands or the
future or to accommodate extraordinary CROWDS
- -fAFaG