The sun., 1919-08-02
FEW RIDERS OBJECT
TONEW TRANSFERS
Walking, However, Gets New
Impetus From Passengers
at Extra Pay Points.
NOT A FIGHT REPORTED
Revenue Results Not Known
as Yet-Cross Line Service
May Be Curtailed.

On the whole New York accepted 2
cent transfers yesterday with as much
resignation as It accepted prohibition:
No more. no less. There were plenty Of
arguments, but they were for the most
part good natured. There was lots Of
laughter. But there were no fights such
as marked the Inauguration Of the 10
, cent fares to Coney Island some years
age
One effect was almost Immediately
noticeable when the order for the cent
, charge for transfers went into effect at
5 o'clock yesterday morning. That was
that folks walked Wherever a transfer
meant a ride of but few blocks the
passengers invariably refused to pay the
additional charge and rejected the b. r.
T. or the green cars or whatever It was
they used to trave! in day before yes
| terday, and fell back on good old Shank
| Mare.
This was the case with the wokers
who used to get off the Madison avenue
| cars at Thirty-fourth street, for instance
| and ride crosstown to the Fifth avenue
and Broadway shops and lofts. Pedes-
trian traffic on Thirty-fourth street was
noticeably heavier throughout the day
and the conductors on the Madison ave-
nue. lines reported a heavy falling of
| In the demands for transfers at this
point.
Practically the same situation existed
| at Broadway and Thirty-fourth street,
where thousands of women used to
| transfer to or from the shopping dis
trict. There were no disturbances, how
ever. and few arguments.
Too Early to Tell Results.
Officials of the traction companies
were not willing last night to estimate
what the result of these walkers would
be upon their hopes for additional rev.
enue from the new charge.
TT will take several days. perhaps
weeks, to make up any estimate of what
our increased revenue will be-" 1t was
stated at the offices Of the b. r. T. TT
may be that people will take to walking
60 much that the increase will amount
TO practically nothing"
At the offices of the New York City
Railways, the green cars In Manhattan,
Job z. Hedges, the receiver, refused to.
estimate the results yesterday. The act
ual tallies for the first day will not be
available before Monday or Tuesday.
The Third Avenue Railway In af-
fected only at the few points where
| transfers were given before yesterday to
| and from the green car lines. Edward
Maher of the Third Avenue Company
said that such reports ass he had re-
ceived indicated that the public had not
seriously objected to the withdrawal Of
the transfers.
One effect OF the new order seems
bound to be the reduction OF service on
many of the cross town lines which here
tofore have carried a high proportion OF
passengers on transfer for short dis
tances. These cars were notably I'M
crowded yesterday for the first time In
years. A reduction in service was pre-
dicted for these lines in order to save
expenses.
In Brooklyn the intricate system of
| lines afforded several escapes from the
two cent charge and there was a re-
| markable shifting of traffic. for instance,
| to the Rogers avenue line. 1t was made
up of persons who formerly took other
more convenient lines and transferred
| to Borough Hall.
Brooklyn conductors, all things con-
| sidered, were the goats OF the day.
| Brooklyn originally had over a thousand
| transfer points. over 800 were cut out,
| partly cut out. or changed. Many con-
| ductors had to carry six or seven differ
pounds of coppers in their pockets and
all the change in their heads. Some
of them looked like field Commission
| ers' at the track in the good old days.
| But none OF them were as happy as
that.
Sounded Like Peace Conference.
In South Brooklyn. where the big for
| eign working population hadn't read the
new rules, the paying of fare and the
getting of a transfer sounded like what
the peace conference must have been.
| In fact one italian did want to know
! how Wilson expected to get away with
Fiume and two cent transfers too. But
all of the conductors had been cautioned
that they must be patient--and as rule
| they were.
AS a result of the long arguments into
which they had to enter. particularly on
! the cars with fare boxes at the end,
! many persons rode free, the conductors
/ falling to get to them In time to collect
before they reached their destinations
! The conductors. too, had a reason for
| their good natures elasticity They
are expecting to get that raise Of pay
they have been asking the receiver OF
the B. r. T. for. and anything that
| looks like a little ready money to the
I
, less earmarked for them. So they were
unduly considerate OF the public yes
terday, despite the mental and digital
requirements imposed upon them.
As the result of observations on all
the lines II seemed that about one per-
son in five is really Directing to the
new charge. The rest either laugh at It
or don't bother about It and walk. The
one out OF flve. however. was responsible
! for the argument.
| One conductor asked the raging pas
! senger to step inside the. door OF the car
until he could argue II out. The argu-
! ment proceeded until the car stopped at
| Thirty fourth street. where the enraged
one insisted on his transfer.
| Are va goin' to get offT' the con-
ductor inquired politely. And the bellig-
erent one climbed to the ground.
| NOW you gimme that transfer" he
yelled from this safe vantage point, "or
I'll know why.
"DinE-Ding" Ends the Argument.
"Dhg-dingg said the bell and as the
car glided on down the tunnel the con-
ductor, again politely explained. lean
ing out the door:
''Ya poor fishi If yau's paid two cents
! for a transfer like I asked va, ya'd a
got it. Now you can pay a nickel for
a fresh fare"
AS the car disappeared into the tun-
mel persons In the upper windows OF
the Vanderbilt Hotel seemed mildly In
| terested in the reply which the one
time passenger was making. He had
| one of those spreading voices.
| In some cases passengers complained