Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-08-01

width. This gives an area to be car
peted of 100000 square feet.
Now, 1t Is easily ascertained that the
area of the daily output of 1927, car
tickets is 3S4.544 square inches. To this
add the 100000 square inches which would
be covered by the daily consumption of
transfer slips. and you have d total OF
1.O1i.j44 square inches, or approximately
I.ofo1. square feet per day. very simple
problem in division is all that is re-
quisite To secure the result
The consumption of car tickets and
transfer slips for one day would al
most make a covering for the entire
area of the Corcoran Art Gallery. The
latter structure is 10 feet by 500 feet.
thus covering a space of $500 square
feet. The approximate 7,04Jle square feet
Of tickets and transfers consumed in a
day would thus leave 1.454is square feet.
which could be covered by the tickets and
transfers used during two average hours.
The car tickets and transfers used dur
Ing the course of day would. placed end
on end. reach over eleven miles. 4 chain
of these documents representing the daily
output would reach 6g9.544 inches As
there are 1890 inches in o statute or
land mile. there would be, therefore. in
this length eleven miles and 1854 inches
to spare.
There are on duty during the course of
an average day in Washington and sub
urban lines several hundred cars. Upon the
9TH and L streets line there are custom
ariJ employed during the course of a
day twenty-four cars. Each car makes
sixteen trips during the twenty hours
that represent a working day. the motor
men and conductors working in ten-lour
made. on an average, 500 stops. and often
shifts During the eight trips Of one
shift one motorman estimated that he
carried as many as 80 passengers, though
this is somewhat more than the ayera ge
number. On the other hand, as many
as 22i fares have been collected on one
car during a half trip. Could this be
kept up it would mean AS fares for one
complete trip, and for the eight trips of
the busiest ten hours :.5S4 persons, Or
fares on one car.
Multiply this by "a. the number of
cars running on 9TH street alone and You
have total of I6,O16 persons travelling on
the cars of this one thoroughfare during
ten hours. Or course. such a calculation
does not represent, in any degree. the
Every one appreciates the fact that moth
ing is more fuctuating than the extent
of street ear travel in regard to the num-
Der of passengers during the various
hours OF the da.. Tt is very difficult TO
strike an average in this regard, even for
one day. Again, the season considerably
Influences the number Of travellers. Dur
ing the present hot weather certain lines
show very considerable increase, es-
pecially at night, owing to the seekers
after the delights of the green country
and refreshing breezes following the tolls
of the day.
::
>: x
The number of car tickets issued and
purchased on the different lines does not
give by any means the extent of travel,
as the proportion Of cash fares daily roll
ing into the Golfers of the companies is
very considerable, constituting, on. an
average, at least one-third of the total.
Observant conductors note the fact that
apparently economical people, who guide
their lives on the saving a penny princi-
pie. almost invariably pay in cash, thus
losing 5 cents on every six trips. Stran-