Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-03-13
Crowded Condition on Many
Lines Shown by VoIuminOuS
Report of Power Co.
MANY PEOPLE FORCED
TO STAND EVERY DAY
Railroad Commission Must Dig
Actual Wrong Out of Great
Mass of Figures.

Buried In a heap of papers a foot
thick. in the office Of the Georgia rail-
road commission, lurking behind long
columns of bare figures, is a story Of
Auantas street car facilities which is
startling when dragged to light
The figures are the traffic report of
the Georgia Railway and Power Com
pany For a week, from February %
to March 1, the company detailed a
force of men to take the readings of
the registers on crosstown cars in the
middle Of the city. A large office force
tsbuIated these statements, and also
the trip reports Of the conductors on all
lines. The trip reports give the regis
ter readings at the ends of the lines.
Page after page of unadorned figures
are presented IN response to the COM
missions request. There is no COM
ment. The commission will make all
necessary comment when the figures
have been digested This work will
take an employee of the commission
ten days of uninterrupted study. When
the digest is complete, the commission
viii study it, and, if it thinks neces-
sary will order better service.
There are % street car lines in At
lanta, the report shows. Without eN-
ception. there is oVercrowding on every
line during the rush hours. This is ap-
parent on casual examination and with
out waiting for the study of the COM
mission.
Some examples are especially glar-
ing Car No. 227 arrived at Inman
yards at 1925 o'clock on the morning OF
February %. which was Wednesday, an
average business day. Car No. 221 has
seating capacity of IS. At lnman
Yards the register showed 107 fares re-
ceived for the trip. Car No. 227 start
ed from White City on this trip, and,
in the center of town, Broad and Ma
rietta streets, at 6:55 a. m, had SO
Passengers.
Sc Coming in Town.
Assuming that all of these persons
got off at Broad and Marietta, which is
not probable 81 persons were picked
up on the 2S-seat car to Inman Yards.
At this hour the passengers are men
going to work. It seems a fair as
sumption that most of them rode to
the end of the Unexpectedly all but
five or six. 1t seems equally conserVa-
tive to say that about half of them
stood up for the long ride.
On the same day, car No. S35, carry
ING crowd home at the end of the
days work. this time on the Peachtree-
Whitehall line. reached the end Of
Peachtree street at 6:35 p. m. with the
register showing 131 fares. At Five
Points, it had 70 fares. This shows
that coming from West End. 36-seat
car picked up 70 fares to Five Points
and So from Five Points to the end
OF the Peachtree run.
Even assuming that the entire load
was changed in the middle of the city
although IL was not that car had use
Tor its full supply of straps
Car No. 357, going to West End at
the close of the day, arriving at the
end Of the Whitehall run at ESQ p. m,
showed 1870 fares fol the trip. At Five
Points the reading was 81 fares. Ut
Drought, then, 81 persons from the
north side to Five Points and took SO
from the center of town to West End,
again assuming the entire load was
changed in the center of town, and
again remarking that the car had seats
for SO
1t is easier TO see the congestion in
me cars whose run does not extend
through town. The main Decatur line
Continued on Page Two.