The Washington herald., 1918-10-27
5-CENT FARES
FOR ALLLINES
Utilities Commission Grants
Universal Increase; Tick
ct Plan Abolished.

Six tickets for a quarter" on the I
street railways Of this city is
thing of the past. The Public Udli- /
ties Commission yesterday issued or
ders to the effect that hereafter a
uniform rate Of cents per trip shall .
be charged all passengers.
Inc new rate goes into effect i'm D.
mediately. The present system of /
transfers will continue in effect for .
the present. All tickets which have
been issued by the companies, and
which are now in the hands Of the
public, are valid until December l, ,
ISIS. or they may be redeemed at
their face value.
Order is Universal.
The orders as issued by the COM
mission yesterday make the new rate
OF fare conditional upon the grant
ing OF 'inter-company" transfers at !
such points as the commission may !
determine. These points will be de- /!
ctded upon at an early date. The /
Commissioners have appointed No /
yembeT as the date upon which the |
question will be first considered. On :
this day the section around the
Navy Yard will be gone over and the .
termined upon. The reason for TAX l
ing up this section first is that in the
view of the Commissioners it is the
most impOr' Snt, and therefore de-
serves immediate action.
The petition Of the Washington
Railway Company and affiliated
companies for an increase in rates
was filed with the commission on
September Il That of the Capital
Traction Company was fled on Sep
tember o. Both petitions were treat
ed separately, but the hearings, held
on October Z, were on both petitions.
A separate order was issued to the
four other street railway companies
of the District, stating that they also
were TO charge ; cents straight, al
though no petition for such action
had been filed with the commission.
These companies operate only small
sections of track in the District but
it was thought by the commission J
that in order that the rate might be /
uniform that they. too, should be
allowed the increase. They are: The
East Washington Heights Traction /
Railroad Company. which operates !
on Pennsylvania avenue southeast be /
low Seventeenth street: the Washing !
ton-Virginia Railway Company, which /
operates very little track in the Dis |
triCt; the Washington and Maryland |
Railway Company, which operates its
Washington track under contract /
with the Capital Traction Company. /
and the Washington and Old Domin- |
ion Railway. which operates line
over the AqueduCt Bridge.
To Improve Service.
The petitions of the companies de-
clared that the increase in rate !
which was asked for was necessary /
to enable the companies to meet the |
increasing cost of materials. and in !
particular the recent increases IN
wages Of their tTainmen. These IN
Creases were made on the demand OF
The men that they were entitled to the
rate Of pay recommended by the Ma
tional war Labor Board in its recent
rulings in the cases of the great rail-
way companies Of Chicago. Detroit,
Cleveland and Buffalo. The petition
Of the Washington Railway and Elec-
tric Company stated that these in |
creases alone would result in an in
crease in the COmpany's operating eX-
penses of about $4,000.
The commission points out in its
order that the crowded condition OF
- the city. while it has increased the
operating expenses of the roads, also
has increased the source of revenue
of the companies. II is further
pointed out that the public has been
forced to bear many hardships on aC-
count of crowded conditions, and
therefore il is only just that the COM
panies should bear their share of the
wars burdens, in improved service
and such other benefits to the public
as the commission may hereafter de-
ternine just as every person and in
stitutiOn must bear its share
In the testimony of the witnesses
Of both companies it was admitted
that the service Of the lines had not
at all times been up to the standard.
Provision is made by the commission
for the rapid improvement of the
service until it is brought up to the
standard at which it should be main
tanned.
Transfer Question Discussed.
While many witnesses at the hear
ing pointed out that it would be i'm
possible to grant free transfers at all
points. representatives of the various
citizens associations insisted that
transfers could be issued at certain
points without materially lessening
the revenues of the companies. They
pointed out that this would relieve
congestion at many points The order
of the commission affecting the ques-
tiOn Of transfers says, in part:
The question of free universal
transfers SO-called, or more properly
speaking. free 'inter-Company trans
fers.' was discussed at length at the
hearing. The president of the Wash
ington Railway and Electric Com
pany. as we'll as the vice president of
the Capital Traction Company, ad-
mitted that at certain points of inter-
section of their respective lines free
transfers might be interchanged
which would be of great benefit to the
public, although it would not tend to
increase the revenues of the COM
panies It was the opinion Of the
witnesses. however. that no extensive
system of inter-cOmpany transfers
should be established without a care
full and complete investigation by the
experts Of the companies and the
commission"
Commissioner Brownlow. chairman
of the Public Utilities Commission
and president of the Board of Com
missioners. yesterday stated that the
increase was granted upon condition
that inter-company transfers be given
at such points IN the Washington
Railway and Electric Company and
the Capital Traction Company's sys-
TENS as may be determined hereafter
by the commission.
BELGIANS FLEE GERMANS.