The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1920-03-09
STREET CAR FARE
THE REAL ISSUE,
SAYS MAYOR PAINE
Discusses Estimates of Num-
Der Of Passengers Who Will
Ride Cars This Year in
Tuesdays Daily Statement.

G., The fare to be charge by the Memphis
street Railway company is the issue
which he proposes to discuss, said May
OF Falne tuesday, not the price of gro
ceries, which L. p. Miles. attorney for
the street Railway company. has been
seeking to talk about. Mr.. Paine
therefore dismisses the statements OF
the lawyer from his mind.
-, tuesday he takes up the question of
the number of probable passengers TO
De carried this year in it's relation to
the rate Of fare to be charged. He
says:
"The total number of revenue pas
sengers at a certain fixed fare, of
course, makes the revenue Of the COM
pany. Early last year when the state
pubic utilities commission was having
tlrst hearings upon the application for
siX-cent fare, the city of Memphis
was called upon to make an estimate
OF the total amount of money that the
company would take in during the year
1919, II a siX-cent fare was charged for
an entire year.
Ross W, Harris engineer represent
ing Inc city, estimated that So, 500, g 5
would be taken in, and the company es-
.lmated that $2,553,OO would be taken
IN ~ the fare was six cents for the
entire year
AZ the end of the year it was esti-
mated that the exact amount actually
earned was 1852, 637, including some
$i,Oo0 or $4,000 of income from miscel-
laneous sources The method the city
engineer, Mr., Harris, employed in esti-
mating the revenue is to figure out how
many times each person paid a fare
during each year for several years back,
and from much careful analysis esti-
mate what number of times each per-
son would ride during 1919. This is
i mhat IS ;, known as ascertainlng the rid
ing hablt arrived at, and by consider
ing the population served by the COM
pany 1t is possible to make q fairly ac-
curate estimate of the number of rev
ehue passengers to be carried during
The year. An idea as to the correct .
ness and conservation of the estimate
OF Mr.. Harris may be shown when it is
NOTED that his estimate is within APP
figures.
In arriving at the proper fare for
1870 an estimate must. of course. he
made as to the number of revenue pas
sengers who will be carried by the
street car company during the year
lSZO. The engineer representing the
city used the same method thar was
used in 1919, and which was found to
be conservative. According to this
method Mr.. Harris, the city engineer,
estimated that 57,000,000 revenue mas
sengers would be carried in 1920 If the
rare remains at six cents, while the
street car company estimates that only
4',O00,OoO passengers will be carried
TO show that the estimates of Mr.
harris are. approximately correct his
estimate of the number of passengers
TO be carried in 1919 made about mid
summer was 46,571,777. The actual NUM-
Der carried was 47,759,SS1. The Mem
PMS street Railway company actually
estimates that fewer passengers will
be carried in 1920 than We're actually
| carried in 1919, Practically all cities
experience. a normal increase in the
number OF revenue passengers from
year to year. and because of the phe.
| nominal activity now prevailing in
Memphis, and because of the wonderfu
growth and development of the CITY al
the present time, it is absurd to esti.
mate that fewer passengers will be
! carried carrie IN 1920 than We're hauled in
| 1919, assuming of course, that a six.
| cent fare remains in effect F"