Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1917-09-24
new SCHEDULE
On L. A. & w. to Become
Effective on Tuesday
Gives Hourly Service on Winthrop
Line and Half Hour Service on Ban
sor Road-Gen. Mgr. Ford Believes
1t Will Satisfy All Complaints

IL VIII satisfy All Complaints
The Lewiston, Augusta and Water
vile Street Railway WILL beginning
Tuesday, inaugurate a new schedule
on the Augusta division of that road,
which it is believed by the manage
ment will do away with complaints
against inadequacies of the service
that have been made to the Public
Utilities Commission. The outstand
ing features of the service and the
purposes aimed at are outlined in a
letter from General Manager A. H.
Ford of the Electric Railway to Hon.
Benjamin F. Cleaves, chairman of the
Public Utilities commission.
The new schedule will give hourly
service on the Winthrop line, where
there was formerly two-hour service
and these cars will run directly from
Winthrop to Togus.
The local cars will. be run from
Gardiner through to Crawfords on
the Waterville line every half hour,
giving half-hour service up the Ban
gor road instead of hourly service.
This, as will be seen, is not only
much better than the previous winter
service but it is better than the sum-
mer service; the road desires to do
everything that it possibly can to con-
vene the Augusta patrons of the
road" said Division Supt. Claude c..
Cole in discussing the new schedule
with a Journal reporter 1.-THE cars
will be run slightly slower between
r1i
care Of the patrons with greater safe
ty between these two cities: which
change is made necessary from the
fact that our traffic on this division
has almost doubled in the past two
years"
Letter to Chairman Cleaves
Following is the letter of General
Manager Ford to Chairman Cleaves of
the Public Utilities commission:
Portland, Me-, Sept %, 1917.
Hon. Benz. +. Cleaves. Chairman
Public Utilities Commission,
Augusta, Maine.
Dear Sir:
Referring to the conversation l had
with you in Augusta on Thu, Sday the
goth inst. relative to complaints as to
service coming to the attention of the
commission from patrons of the L.,
A. & w. Street Railway principally
in Augusta, and vicinity, we beg to
advise that we have been giving earn
est consideration to the matters you
brought to our notice We state to you
frankly that many of the complaints
are justified and come from 'condi-
I
traordinarily severe winter. the un-
usually large number of electrical
storms during this last summer and
the unusual traffic conditions partic-
ularly on Sundays and holidays dur
ing this latter period. Some of these
complaints may be chargeable to man
agenent.
1t is not our purpose in this letter
to you to consume much space in JUS
ufying ourselves but prefer to take
active and energetic steps to elimin-
ate the causes. However, in fairness
to ourselves, we feel that some of the
reasons for these conditions should
be briefly brought to the attention of
the commission and made plain to
them that we have been alive to the
situation, and, Notwithstanding handi-
caps, particularly of a financial ma
ture, we have formulated plans and
contracted for additional equipment to
remedy these conditions. We are en-
deavorng to make the l.. A. & w.
Street Railway prosperous company
which is adequately fulfilling all of
its obligations to the public, but the
extraordinary conditions Of the last
two years particularly increases in
cost of labor and material for the
maintenance and operation of the road
have created condition where it is
barely earning its fixed charges. This
situation, Of course, you are more or
less familiar with and you can readily
understand tn, difficulties of financing
new construction and improvements.
yet Notwithstanding this, the company
is spending during this year a COM
paratiEely large amount of money to
better it's service and earning power,
by adding to its equipment and i'm
proving the power conditions on the
whole system
Our immediate step to remedy part
Of the troubles complained Of will be
to introduce a new schedule which
will improve the service from Craw-
fords to Augusta Gardiner and Win
throp and the Intervening territory.
From Crawfords to Augusta we will
operate 30 minute service, instead of
hourly. from Augusta to Winthrop a
regular schedule of hourly service, in
stead of two hour service morning and
night as at present and from Augusta
to Gardiner We will allow 10 minutes
more in running time to insure cars
being on schedule. These changes in
schedule will practically eliminate
congestion of cars on Water street,
Augusta. as the. meeting point Of the
Augusta Gardiner and lewiston Wa
terville cars will no longer be on Wa
ter street. This change, which will not
only permit the operation of cars on
time, but will convene a greater num-
Der of our patrons, will be put into
effect on Tuesday. Sept. %, and it shall
be our earnest endeavor to maintain
this schedule. If this change does not
cover the case. and it is found that