The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-31


 Text of Decision
 The decision of the public service commission follows in full:
 Birmingham Railway Light and
 Power Company; the Birmingham
 Tfdewater Railway company; Blr-
 mingham and Edgewood Electric
 Railway company, Lee c. Brad
 ley Receiver-Petition for increase
 of rates for the carriage of passen-
 gers over the railway lines of the
 Birmingham Railway, Light and
 Power company, the Birmingham-
 Tidewater Railway company, and
 the Birmingham and Edgewood
 Electric Railway company, and for
 authority to put into effect trans
 fer charge for the issuance and use
 of transfers between the railway
 lines of said respective railways.
 Docket 40S9.
 A seven CD cent street railway fare on petitioners lines of railway has been in effect since January l., 1921.
 At the hearing in December, 1920, before the commission respecting pc titioners' railway fares, the history of the property, service and financial condition of the petitioners during the period of receivership was devel- ODeQ DY tHe SNluSiSC anu ANSiSSN AAA the order of the commission estab- fishing a 7-cent fare.
 That history need not now be re- viewed further than to say that the financial condition of the petitioners was then critical and the necessity for relief undisputed. It was the opinion of the experts who were Ia miliar with the properties that the increase in fare then granted would enable the utilities to continue good service and to slowly relieve them selves from the embarrassment under which they were then laboring. The experts estimates of increase ln net revenue from the increase in railway fare to cents varied rom @1o'ooo 'o s35,000 per month
 Met Expectations
 The increase in January fully met the expectations of petitioners. me increase in February was sughty less than was expected. In March there was a substantial decline ana that decline has continued, and con- times to increase until the gross re- ceipts are now approximately S4o'ooo per month less than they were year ago. ,ss
 The major causes of the decrease in railway receipts are, flrst, uheni- ployment and industrial inactlvlty to an unprecedented extent; ana, seo' ond, the large increase m Ji.ness.
 Tn the meantime, petitioners haVe s,,hsta ntiallv reduced operating eX. nenses and are pursuing poIcy ol aconomy. They are continuing te giye good service--a serVlce WhieI the city's expert testified was eQuai to any in the south. ,n
 The effect of the decrease III receipts. notwithstanding reductlon in operating expenses, has peen to wander the financial condltloh VI natitioners even more critical than II was last December.
 Transfer Charge
 we order transfer charge or cents and have removed the restric. tions on the issuance or transieis heretofore in effect respecting pas sengers travelling to ana rom Lron ' dale, Roebuck Springs, Iarranl Si'S' vivian and Fairfield
 Tn the case of the Birmingham ana rdgewood Electric Railway com nanv we eliminate any transfer pe- tween that line and the North and South Highlands line of the Bir- pham Railway, Light and Power coupany. and at the same time order . 5-cent fare good from terminus 10 terminus of the Edgewood line. A transfer charge is equitable, be- cause otherwise the traHsfer passen- sr. sets me ride free. Furthermore. @ba free transfer is grossly abused, ana the imposition of charge for transfer will tend to eliminate the abuse.
 The experts have furnished esti- mates of the relief expected 10 accrue from several suggested fare schec- ules. We are, however, unwilling to increase the cost of transportatlon 10 the regular car rider. It Is the regu- lar car rider who supports the sys- tenn and makes dependable transpor- tation possible. To him the street car Is 4 prime necessity. On the oth- CT hand, the casual car rider uses the street car only when other means (whether private automobile or 5it- ney) fail
 Fifteen Tickets for $1
 He contributes but little to the sup port of the system, and to him the street car is a luxury, or at most And yet, under the pre- yailine. fare system the regular ana casual riders pay the same price. IL is different with gas and electricity and almost universally so. The minimum monthly bill for electricity and gas is-in reality a readiness-to- serve charge The principle of readiness to serve charge should con trol as far as may be in street car traffic. We, therefore, fix the fare at 8 cents cash, but we also provide that 15 tickets shall be sold for VI. The ticket rate is 2-3 cents. or a slight reduction below the present fare, and the s1 ticket books place the tickets in the reach of all car riders who make. substantially regular use of the street car.
 We continue the school ticket rate at 21s cents without transfer privi- lege.
 We continue the Bessemer family book ticket rate of 30 tickets for s5 10, or IT 'cents per through ride. without change. The dollar ticket books will be usable on the Bessemer lines, thereby making the through fare 20 cents, if these tickets are used.
 Preaents Striking Contrasts
 The street railway problem pre- sents striking contrasts to the elec- tric and gas problems. The percent age Of growth in the number of gas and electric consumers in the past decade has been far greater than the of growth in the street car traffic. notwithstanding that ne. groes, who constitute q large per- centage of the population, rarely use gas and electricity. and depend all