The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1914-10-13
Commuters after Railroad.

OIUAKI W. N1A(FARLAND
Commuters after Railroad.
Charging unfair practices, steady de-
crease in service in the face of increases
in fares, the South Jersey Commuters
Association has under date of Septem-
Der 10, sent series of complaints against
the Pennsylvania Railroad Company
to the State Public Utility Commission
At the same time the Commuters AS
ISOLATION has started a movement that
is to result in forming a branch of that
body in nearly all the towns south of
Trenton.
The commuters will be represented by
counsel if the Utility Commission grants
hearing, but the officers express the
hope that an investigation will be con-
Quoted by the Utility Commission on
its own initiative. The communication
is as follows:
The South Jersey Commuters, Asso-
citation desires to petition your honor
able body for an investigation into pas
senger rates and service on the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad and leased lines south of
Trenton. For years this service has
been steadily decreased so that it is in
adequate, and the rates of fare have
been increased. This deterioration in
service and increase in rates of fare be-
gan long before the so-called era of high
wages and increased expenses and dur
ing the most prosperous period from
point of income in the history of the
company, and in this connection it may
be well to remind your honorable body
the United Railroads division is leased
at an animal rental of 10 per cent. per
annum, and that this large dividend is
paid at the expense of the service and by
increases in the rates of fare.
But, aside from the subject of made
quate service, we desire to call to the at
tention of your honorable body practices
that are unfair to the patrons of the
Pennsylvania Railroad Company. To
be specific, the company has on sale two
tickets to Bordentown from Camden
only the higher-priced ticket is to be
found in the printed tariff the company
is required to keep ON file. These tic
kets are sold for 81. 10 and 80 cents, the
only difference being that the cheaper is
good for two days and the other is good
for ten days.
When your honorable body ordered the
Pennsylvania Railroad Company not to
increase the rate above 80 cents, the COM
pany evaded the spirit of the order by
extending the time limit on the higher
price ticket and keeping it ON sale. They
keep the cheaper ticket on sale, but the
uninformed do not know of it's existence
and are invariably handed the higher
price ticket by the agents of the COM
pany. The agents have in their possess
sion slip of paper authorizing the sale
of the cheaper ticket.
Passengers buying tickets on one divi- |
sion to point on another division, and
who make connections at Camden, are
compelled to pay ferriage to Philadel-
phia when they do not go there. They
are Obliged to pay for service they do
not want to use and which their tickets
do not permit them to use. But even in
this practice the company is not equit-
able, for should the ticket call for des- |
tination on the Belvidere division two
straight fares to Philadelphia are added, |
or from Merchantville, for EXAMPLE, an |
additional 30 cents is added; but should |
the ticket read to point to another di- |
vision the price of an excursion ticket |
from Merchantville to Camden; or % |
cents, is added to the cost of the price
of q ticket from Camden to destination |
passenger purchasing ticket to |
seashore point at station ten miles |
nearer his destination must paw the |
same fare as is charged from Camden, |
but his ticket is not valid to return to |
Camden. Hundreds of passengers liv- |
ing en- route to seashore points each |
tlit1C tACy iCb0Ih Will SdDlucn DIS bu6lT
destination are compelled to paw ex- |
ira fare after passing the town where |
their tickets were purchased, although |
they have already paid the fare to Cam
den. BY this practice the company col |
lects the fare twice.
Fifty-trip family tickets are sold to |
Camden for 2 cents ride cheaper than |
the cost to Philadelphia, but sixty-trip
tickets are sold for less than a cent ride
to Camden than to Philadelphia
Different fares are asked for the same
service. A round-trip ticket to Burling-
ton costs 60 cents and a ticket to Mount |
Holly, less than two miles farther from
Camden, costs IS cents, an additional
cost of 10 cents for little over mile.
The Pennsylvania Railroad, after a
hearing before your honorable body,
agreed to stop so per cent. of express
trains at Broadway Station, Camden.
Not 25 per cent. stopped there during
the last summer, and the service at
present in this respect is but slightly inn
proved.
The Pennsylvania Railroad schedules
many of its trains to start from the
Camden terminal six minutes after the
time scheduled to leave Philadelphia
An investigation by your honorable body
will show this to be physical impossi-
bility when the boats are crowded, and
daily passengers miss trains on this ac-
count.
A large number of incoming trains are
scheduled to connect at the Camden ter
minal with ferryboats leaving two min
utes after the arrival of such trains.
That, too, is a physical impossibility.
Such instances of bad judgment are ag-
gravated by the tapping off of ferryboats {
in the face of a trainload of passengers
and when the boats are ona ten-minutel
schedule and there is no reason why {
such boats might not be held a brief
time longer for the accommodation of
the train scheduled to make connection,
or perhaps it would be nearer the truth
to say for passengers on trains scheduled
to miss the boats.
Thousands of rides are lost to commu-
tiers through no fault of their own by a
new order that requires train conductors
to punch the last ferry-punched ride on
Communication tickets. If by error, as is
easily done, the ferry collector in Cam
den punches ride No. 90 instead of ride
10, which is directly below it, the rides
preceding No 20 are void for rides from
Camden, for if ferry collector punches !
one of them the train conductor will not
under this order honor the ride. He is
obliged to punch ride 81 or some other
ride numbered higher than No. 20. For
Terry COLLECTORS 10 puHcu tuc cAdCe olHdli
square in a Communication ticket every
time during rush hours is not possible
and is not to be expected, although the
men show wonderful skill in their work.
Passengers on the Pemberton and
Hightstown branch arrive at Pemberton
at S. AS %. m. The train that is to carry
them to Camden is standing at the sta
ton, and for years started soon after the
arrival of the branch train. Under the
new schedule passengers are obliged to
sit in the cars forty-four minutes. In
view of the fact that this delay is part
of an interval of three hours between
trains from Pemberton to Camden as
well as between intermediate stations
and Camden, not only would the pas ii
sengers from the Pemberton and Hight II
town branch be benefited, but passen r
gers along the entire line would be Y
furnished with closer train service.
Your honorable body ordered the
Railroad Company to sell 4
tickets making Camden and Jersey City .
the destination where passengers did not T.
desire to use the ferry service, We de- iDs