The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-04-21
CONNECTICUT co.
 ISSUES STATEMENT

Whether or no the so-called Jitney l service should be regulated further
 than is possible under the present laws of this state resolves itself to consideration of it's effect upon,
 First, the general public.
 Second, the employees of street rail- way companies, and
 Third, the matter of equity to the street railway companies.
 Referring to the first class, many
 of the public without analysing the subject carefully, believe that so- called Jftney service promises a. so- lution of the rush hour overcrowding of cars and that it's competition will exert a sa1utory effect upon street railway. companies alleged shortoom- ings- Unfortunately, street rail- way company exercising it's best eff forts and with the best intentio ons of ten appears to the public to be will fully neglectful of it's rights and comfort and therefore when questions
 of this or 8, similar nature arise, they
 are oftentimes not considered without prejudice If company'S patronage falls off, it perforce has not the if ] nancial ability to furnish the service l it would have under more favorable conditions Certain lines of almost every street railway company in each community aDe operated without pro- fit and must look for their justifica- ton to the earnings of the system as | l ally operated from early morning un- til late at night, which headway is
 not warranted by the patronage be- tween, say and 11:30 a. m 2:3O
 and $500 p. n., and after g. o'clock | in the evening, during which periods
 of light riding cars are operated for 1 the convenience of passengers and
 run with many vacant seats.
 In the past trolley companies have
 at the request of suburban commun- | settled territory. Those extensions 1 have made for the health of the com
 1nunities in allowing the man of small l means to build on reasonable terms
 and have obviated the necessity, to a
 large degree, of the use of tenements | These extensions have also made l for the profit of merchants due to
 this means of easy and reasonable
 travel
 Fare Idmitsi Extended
 ! Fare limits have been extended be- 1 yond profitable distances and their I ting effect on the general result of
 the short haul passenger and rush
 hour riding. If this short haul riding
 is to be taken away, to a. considerable degree. from the street railway com panies, inevitably a reduction in ser
 vice must follow and a contraction | of fare limits must also result.
 It is probable that if trolley car
 service has to be withdrawn to a con- I siderable amount, it will be impos- l sfble to furnish extra car service on | holidays as well as on sporadic days | upon which there are rain and snow 1 storms. Street cars, as a rule, fur l nish dependable service operated on i a regular schedule and with safety I and comfort to it's passengers: espe- l cfally is this. true with regard to wo- ] men and children. Furthermore if | Isz 4 property upon which recovery can be
 made in a civil suit if the company 1 is liable. The Connecticut company | has paid for damage claims during the last three fiscal years, an average l of $281,791.32 per annum.
 The service furnished by the so- 1 called Jitney is usually one which ap- l pea1sl to the operator of the same as
 likely to furnish the most revenue, IAcars often being Turned back short
 order to take prospective passengers I before they are reached by an ap- | preaching trolley car, and the length of ride given is comparatively short
 and the headway very irregular and I as a, rule operated only during hours | of heavy travel In fact, the average | length of ride given by the Jitney service in New Haven at present, as 4 contrasted with the distance to the
 first fare limit given by the trolley I is 56 per cent. in Waterbury AS per Il cent, in Meriden Al per cent in Irelative distances to radical points out from the center of the cities which are given by the Jitney service
 compared with the trolley, whereas l by transfer or direct route this dis | tance can usually be doubled in rid ling from one side of a city to an 4 other in a trolley car, so that as a matter of fact if passengers desire I to take the ride. the Jtney instead
 of giving 50 per cent of Sthe trolley .t ride, is giving but one-quarter.
 i In many cities the drivers of Jit- neys have been young men with very
 little experience In several of the 2 western cities Jitney service was sus- I pended entirely after a. snow storm
 and only resumed after trolley com
 panies and municipalities had clear I ed the Streets of snow. In general the
 Jitney is actually doing the work of
 a common carrier. each machine as q
 rule owned by 3. different individual
 but with out the regulation and super 5 vision of any authority such as the n public utilities commission, passing upon it's method of operation and the ' qualification of the operators thereof
 and paying to the state or municipal
 ity much less than the average owner
 of a private automobile.
 EdnpIoyes of Company
 Referring to the second class af- fected by the JitneY service, namely. the employees of the company. many
 of the enpIoyes of the. Connecticut
 company, especially motormen and
 conductors, have spent years in the
 service and cannot earn at any other vocation, a wage equal to that now l enjoyed and of which a very large proportion is spent in the cities where it is earned. If the operation of a, considerable number of Jitneys
 should necessitate retrenchment upon
 the part of the trolley company in
 discontinufng the operation of many of it's cars, the incident hardship up- } on the employees and the loss of busi- ness to the communities, will be con
 siderable.
 For the last fiscal year the payroll of the Connecticut company was $3,- l.a- oal z