Evening star., 1919-04-09
MEETINGS TO VOICE
CAR FARE PROTEST
Federation of Citizens Will
Hold Assemblies Opposing
Zone Program.
COMPANY GIVES FIGURES

ington Railway and Electric Com
pany for zone fares are to be or
ganized on an extensive scale by the
utilities committee of the Fedora
ton Of Citizens Associations.
The zone scheme promises to stir
up a hornets nest. and the federation
expects to take a prominent part IN
developing the protest. President
Westlake today said that William
Nick. Clayton, chairman Of the utill-
ties committee, would direct the or
ganzing of the mass meetings.
1t is doubtful If the public utllltles
Commission has ever been confronted
with a more difficult problem to solve
than that involved in the application
of the railway company for financial
relief
Commission Is Impressed.
The commission is impressed with
the fact that the company is up
against it" and, in all probability. Will
be forced to go into receivers hands
il it is not able to increase its rev.
enues. That receivership for the
property would be inimical to the
capitals interest is known to be the
view of some, if not all, of the men,
Those in touch with the situation
have discarded the likelihood of re-
lief being granted in the form Of
fiat increase in fare, for the reason
that the Capital Traction Company
has not applied for an increase and
different fares for the two systems
would lead to intolerable conditions.
Unless some method not yet sug.
gested is devised. immediate relief
apparently. can be given only through
a zone system or restoration OF the
electric light rate to the former basis
of 10 cents per kilowatt hour, which
would put the Potomac Electric Pow
er Company in a position to extend
greater assistance to the railway
company during the present crisis
caused by high operating costs.
Zone Plan Arouses Critics.
The zone suggestion has aroused
criticism primarily on the ground that
it will retard suburban development
and work a hardship upon those who
have acquired suburban homes.
This is combated by the railway
officials with the argument that meas
ured service is the only fair service
and is the principle followed in prac-
tically all other lines of business. The
protest of real estate men is met with
the statement that, since the subur-
at a loss developing the outlying areas
IT no cost to real estate interests, the
company. in faty9eos, should net b
condemned for seeking an increased
rate that will enable 1t to meet the
increased cost of Operation imposed by
war conditions.
Company's Zone Program.
According to the company's plan. =.
presented to the commission. 11th and
F streets will be the center OF the
downtown zone. which win radiate
two and a half miles in each direc.
ton from that point. In this zone il
is proposed to charge cents. with ;
cents additional for the outer zone.
1t IL estimated that xone fares. plus
will increase the company's revenues
by about 100000 a year.
Zone points, as proposed by the
company, will be as follows: Ninth
street and Brightwood line, Nichols
avenue and Good Hope road and
Georgia avenue and New Hampshire
avenues; Columbia line. Benning road
and 18th street: Maryland line. Rhode
Island avenue and Baltimore and Ohio
railroad; Georgetown-North Capitol
line. Michigan avenue and Trinity
College and 36th street and Prospect
avenue; Tenleytown line, Wisconsin
avenue and r street.
The company has made traffic
counts on which the increased reve-
nue. estimates are based. On March 5,
the total number of passengers carried
on all lines was 23S.632. OF this num-
Der, 96.094 were passengers carried
on lines. like the Mount Pleasant line
that are wholly within the first zone
Transfer passengers carried March 3
totaled 68.461.
A count of passengers carried on
the interzone lines at points one
quarter Of a mile beyond the proposed
zone points enumerated above gave
a total Of 68.017 on March 3. This
was 22.15 per cent of all the passen-
gers that travelel on the companys
lines that day. If this count establish
es safe rule for measurement. less
than one-fourth of the daily average
patrons of the system will be affected
by second zone charge.