Palisadian. [volume] (Cliffside Park, N.J.) 1906-current, 1919-04-26
O'TOOLE SAYS ZONES
,
ONLY JUST SYSTEM
FOR TROLLEY FARES

Declaring in substance that the
proposed coming fare system of the
Public Service Street Railway Com
pany, as submitted to the Public Utili-
ties Commission, was the only equit-
able manner of collecting fare for
transportation, and that in it lies the
only hope of the Public Service Cor
poration to maintain decent service
with reasonable return of profit on
it's invested capital, John l.. O'TOole,
secretary to President McCarter of
the Public Service, spoke Wednesday
on the proposed coming system before
the Monticello Avenue Merchants AS
sociation, at their regular weekly
luncheon held in the Jersey City Club.
Pointing out in his opening remarks
that the management of street rail-
way is as much the problem of bust
ness men as of the company that sup
plies the service, because, without
means of getting people to the bust
ness centers business must of neces-
Sity dwindle. he showed that where
transportation facilities are weak the
reflection is found in the retail mer-
chants volume of business. He said
the public. service had attained Il
point where no progress could be made
because Of the fact that unlike manu-
facturers and others who could change
from one field of revenue to another,
where profits We're better public Serv-
ice was limited by the state in its
charges. He likened this condition to
the individual not in control of his
own business.
! Though we can charge but spe-
Gifted fare imposed by the Public
| Utilities Commission, there is no lin
! it to the expense that can be saddled
on us" said Mr.. O'Toole. The re-
suit is that we're crowded on the rev.
en,lsxsii;,, arc squeezed on, the ex-
pense side, and we've got to the point
whore we can't 90 forward.
After explaining the theory of the
coming system as arrived at by the
commission which worked it out, he
said New jerseys problem is unlike
any other in the country for the rea-
son that there is no general area or
large city center from which could
radiate all the public serFice lines for
equal distribution of transportation
that would permit of a fixed fare.
Dividing the actual cost Of service
into the standby and movement cost.
laying tracks and placing the plant in
position, and the actual cost of trans
| pOrtatiOn, it was found that it cost
/ t cents for every passenger before
| they get on the trolley, and fraction
/ less than Il cent for each mile the
passenger rides thereafter This made
| it necessary, he said, to charge , cents
| for the first mile travelled, and one
cent for every mile thereafter.
The first three months of the pub
| lie service business in 1918 shows a
deficit of S4S6,O0O of which $500, 000
was lost in March, when the six day
strike occurred. improvements are
out of the question with such deficits
as the corporation faced in 1918. Mr..
| O'ToOle said.
Il can see no prospect of fares
coming down or even remaining at
the present SiX-cent rate" he said in
another part of his address, after re-
lating how New England cities. no.
tably Boston. were charging an eight
cent fare and suburban cities to that
great metropolis paying ten-cent
fare IF the sevcn-ccnt fare failed,
certainly the siX-cent fare will, and
our only hope is in the zone system.
In the coming year, Mr.. O'Toole
/ figured, public service would carry the
same number of passengers as in 1916,
namely, twelve hundred million, which
cost them at that time Sll 100000.
With the increased cost felt in every
| line. ii Will cost in the coming year
! ST., 100000 to transport the same num-
Der of passengers. Mr.. O'Toole point
ed out in the close of his address that
| he saw no prospect of fares coming
down any more than would hats and
shoes and other staple articles. The
zone system he characterized as being
an arrangement whereby passengers
pay for what they get and nothing
more"
He was given Il vote of thanks for
his address by the merchants. after
he answered Il number of objections
| from the associations members at the
conclusion
Making II Work Both Ways.
Mr.. Slowpay-I shall bring You back