The San Francisco call., 1909-12-30
FASTER SCHEDULE
FAILS TO CONNECT
Improvement Only Theoretical
Leaving Time One Second
Ahead of Arrival

BERKELEY, Nov. 29.-While San
Francisco is fighting for a better car
service the residents of the hill Sec
tion of North Berkeley are struggling
with the unique problem of a car serv-
ice that has been improved beyond the
point of usefulness. The members Of
the La Iona Improvement club say it is
a concession forced by their threat. of
a boycott The North Berkeley im-
provement club, of which La Iona. is
sort of insurgent offspring, claims the
change as fulfillment of a promise TO
the parent organization, while the ma
jority of the hill residents cry:
Plague on you both. Give us back
the old schedule"
The bone of contention is the exten-
sion of the Euclid avenue car line to
Rose street, an extension promised long
ago to those who built their homes in
the now thickly populated heights be-
yond Hilgard avenue, the present
terminal of this line. 1t was the North
Berkeley Improvement club that in
duced the Oakland traction company to
build this line in the first place and
the promise to extend 1t was given to
w
proved from time to time, but although
the people who lived higher UP agreed
to do nearly everything but build the
track and furnish the power and cars,
all suggestions that it was about time
to extend the line were filed away in
the manana pigeon hole.
Meanwhile the service was all that
those who lived within reach of the car
line could desire. There was car
every 10 minutes. Every other car con-
nected with a Key Route train and
every Key Route train was met by q
car. Then the La Iona Improvement
club, weary of the conservative tactics
of the North Berkeley club, declared it's
intention of boycotting the Oakland
traction company If the extension was
not forthcoming.
The company paid no direct attention
to the threat. but after the publication
of the boycott story in The Call the
North Berkeley Improvement club was
notified that "we are now in a position
to fulfill our promise that we would
further improve the service on Euclid
avenue as soon as we had the extra
power installed Then the fun began.
North Berkeley awoke one morning
to find it's orderly electric cars racing
up and down Euclid avenue like things
possessed. There was no leisurely wait
Route depot. Back and forth, night and
day. the cars; tore up and down the
hills, They are still at it.
We've got EN- going, said the MEM
bers of La Iona club.
We did it," said the North Berkeley
club.
Wen nix 'em,'. said the traction com
pany.
Help, said those who really used
the cars.
Although the service is Theoretically
better, il is actually the reverse. The
new schedule has been so contrived that
cars leave the depot just one second
before the Key Route train stops at
Berkeley station and arrive there one
second after. the train leaves, so that
whichever way the commuter is travel
ing he either misses a train or has to.
wait seven or eight minutes for car.
1t is not much of "a wait, but before the
car was waiting for him and seven
minutes is a long time to- wait anyway
on q cold night for a ear that makes its
full run in less than 10 minutes.
To maintain tile schedule the cars
run in defiance, of all speed limits. By
daylight frightened nurse girls. in
Euclid avenue herd their little charges
away from the car tracks. The children
like it and give. Santa Claus all the
credit. At night the cars give con-
tinuous initatioir of Halley's comet.
with an incidental uproar compared
with which,. the reverberations of the
late fanented blasting from the closed
down quarry were as the strains of an
AeolfaIl harD 80 =: