The New York herald., 1921-12-16
Eight Cent Fare Would Be
Lowest Also, Transit Com
mission Hears.
DANGER IN CITY LINES
Head of Fifth Ave. Coach Go.
Says Capsizing Is q Menace
With the Company.

The Transit Commission listened
yesterday to some figures which would
be highly enlightening to persons who
share Mayor Hylan's obsession in ia
vor OF "scrapping' the decrepit sur
face car lines and substituting jitney
buses.
New York surface car lines at pres
ent are carrying billion passengers
year Official data OF the Fifth
Avenue Coach Company demonstrated
that to substitute sufficient buses to
carry that number of passengers would
require an initial expenditure of $73'-
600. 900 for buses and housing accom-
modations for them, and that, incl
dentally, the city would have to scrap
more than 100000, 900 of investment
in existing street car lines, whose
owners would have to be indemnified.
John A. Ritchie, president Of the
Fifth Avenue. Coach COMPANY iesti-
fed furthermore that these 10000
900 passengers could not possibly he
carried at less than an eight cent fare,
even il the more luxurious features of
his present system we're sacrificed in
the interest of economy in establish
ing bus lines all over the city.
Mr.. Ritchie, answering Clarence j.
Shearn. special counsel TO the commits
sion. said he had studied the Grover
Whalen vehicles, to which Judge Shearh
referred as "these jitney buses that are
hopskipping around the city In dinerent
quarters"
Here is just a mild sample or whst
Mr.. Ritchie said Of them:
Like Cattle Packing in Buscs.
They pack them in like cattle. We
believe that many times they have
packed them to the point of danger OF
capsizng. You have live load in there
that Is weaving and these jitneys are
not buses. There is no more comparison
between a bus and a jitney than between
a street car and a cattle car. With TINS
weaving load your centre OF gravity is
too high on all these trucks with I'M
provised body and it Is dangerous
proposition"
Cen O'Ryan inquired: This road up
on the Boulevard and Concourse in The
Bronx--is that classified as titneyY
'I would not like to classify that
replied the witness; "it is a mongrel OF
some sort"
Mr.. Rtchie said his criticisms, how
ever. would apply to 1t along with the
others. "All these are trucks he saio )
some OF them are good--as trucks
but they have inprovised bodies placed
on top Of them with a high centre or
gravity"
Samuel Borrow, auditor OF tho COM
pany. had submitted voluminous records
to prove that IL the Fifth Avenue Coacn
Company had been operating for
instead OF a 10 cent fare 1t would have
had for the fiscal year 1921 net dehclt
Of s1.S09.114 instead of it's actual proht
of s1,117.725. For 1920 there would
have been a net deficit of Sl.236.41 !;
for 1919 one OF sss9.242: for 1918 net
corporate loss of seo7,577, and for 1917
one Of s4ss.3oo.
s.77 Cents for Each Passenger.
Mr.. Ritchie testified that OF every
dime fare received from passengers IN
the thirteen years ended on June 3d.
1870. an average OF 6.T cents has gone
into actual operating cost. Adding TO
this ss cent for taxes. OF which the
city's per cent. gross earnings TAX
represents .5. adding also 8 of mill
/ for each passenger. which goes INTO
q reserve TO pay injury and damage
| claims, and mills a passenger INTO
| the reserve for depreciation and OBJ
solescencc. II Is seen that after taking
out 8 per cent. interest on capital in
vestinent there remains OF tho dime
Ia cents as the company's net income
| therefrom.
For the entire thirteen years tho bus
| lines total revenue was go. 100 64o.N and
its total operating costs siS,6G.SS.f9 In
tho same period the city's per cent
tax amounted to si.O04, ,s9o61 and the
/ taxes proper. aside from tho license zee.
to $71sos1.o4 which made the totsi
operating expenses and taxes fl5,Ji'.-
| 3J713 There was left for the entire
period a net balance OF NT73, sS.s4. De-
ducting from this sum si.2ii.2is.T for
| deprecis ton and obsolescence reserve
and sl55.96s.42 for damage claims ac-
crued but unpaid. the gross income Tor
the thirteen years amounted to
| 81. .403. .07025.
| Further figuring showed that the
company is operating 2se buses, which