New-York tribune., 1908-12-07
TRANSFERS AGAIN.


'eThe New York Times's' earnest desire TO
secure the greatest possible extension of the
transfer privilege to the riders in streetcars"
has all along been so unmistakable that it has
been wonder 10 see our contemporary pro
noting that end with arguments precisely SINH
lar TO those by which the street railway com
panfes were seeking TO destroy the transfer sys-
tenn We might wish that the association be-
tween 'rThe Times and The Tribune to which
it generously alludes, were more complete, eX-
tending not merely to the end Of preserving all
that is reasonable of the transfer system, but
also to the means TO that end that IT could
agree with us that the cost of the transfer sys-
fem deDends upon the amount of service rem
derei. and join with in dispelling the foggy
notion that transfer has the mysterious
property of transmitting one passenger into TWO
passengers who ride for one fare, and enabling
him to take up room on two cars at once thus
wrecking the companies and oyercroWdlng their
vehicles.
There is nothing mysterious about street rail-
reading The cost Of the service to the COM
panv. other things being equal, depends on the
distance the passenger IS carried. This Is rec
ogniZed in steam rairOadng, where the charge
is proportioned to the distance-so much mile
It is equally the determining factor in street
railroading the uniform charge Of five cents
being based on the average distance tlat pas
sengers are carried Now, the transfer tends
to increase this average distance, for by the
use of it passengers save distances which they
would otherwise walk. And the question
whether the system is rulnoIs or not depends
not on tricks with figures such as counting
every transferred passenger as two passengers,
each Of whom pays two and a half cents, but
on whether or not the average distance traV-
eIled has been so increased by the use of trans
fers that it is no longer profitable to carry pas
sengers for five cents
..,Tha Times" reminds US that when passen-
ger transfers twice he must ride in three
.'vehicles. with three power houses and three
..sets Of employees" and it contends that the cost
of Transporting him has therefore been in
! creased 1t is doubtless more costly to run
three street railroads than one, but if they have
got TO be run and are controlled by one COM
pany it seems to US that it makes no difference
whether q passenger rides a continuous mile on
one or a third of a mile on each of the three.
| In either case he has ridden precisely the same
! distance he has occupied space to the exclusion
/ Of some other passenger for precisely the same
! time-let US say ten minutes-he has had the
! services of two employees, also for ten minutes,
! and precisely the same amount Of power has
! been used TO transport him. II either Of the
lines has to be operated solely 10 carry transfer
| passengers, or If more cars have to be operated
/ 10 carry transfer passengers than would other
wise be necessary either of these lines, then
/ that is an additional service required because
/ of the transfer system, and there is additional
cost due TO il. But we confident that upon
examination all such additional service required
| win be found to be in close proportion to the
/ additional distance which passengers on the
/ average have to be carried because of their use
/ of transfers
But" says The Tines surely it will be
admitted that space on a moving car costs
something" Surely it does. The companies
/ have no doubt about this, and they see TO il, at
! least during rush hours that you don't get q
| mllimetre of It more than you pay for. But its
cost is IN proportion TO the length Of time 1t Is
/ occupied, that is TO say, in proportion to the
/ distance the passenger travels. If every pas
! senger rode not less than hundred blocks
/ the street railroads would doubtless lose money
/ even if there were no transfers. If nobody rode
( more than fifteen blocks, the railroads would
. make money, no matter how freely transfers
( were used. provided. Of course, that the total
/ distance Of rides broken by transfers did not
/ exceed the fifteen blocks Transfers do increase
/ the cost Of the service 10 the street railway
/ companies but no one knows whether the sys-
| TEN IS burdeusome not. because no proper
statistics are available. The figures with which
the system IS usually attacked are utterly de-
/ luSiVe.