The Washington herald., 1922-04-28
PUBLIC UTILITIES
BODY DENIES MOVE
TO KILL BUS Lines
Fear of Monopoly by Car
Companies Allayed by
Announcement.
PERMIT is GRANTED
Rapid Transit to Run Another
Route With Terminal at
r. /. Ave. and T st.

between the Public Utilities Com
mission and the House District
Committee as a result of the an
rouncement recently 1y the iorme-
that it would favor applications Of
theFstreet car companies to operate
bus lines, has gone gliinmering in
denial by the commission that 1t
had any idea of throttl!l; the hus
line system
Chairman Focht, Of the House
District Committee. feared the an
nouncement presaged monopoly
on bus lines by the street ca. COM
panies. Crushing the bus line sys-
TEN was further from the minds OF
the commission than anything else,
II said. Its only desire. the COM
mission said, is to give the people
better service, and IT feels a finan-
cially strong company can do this
better than one that has not so
much money at its disposal.
Public Necessity Is Keynote,
The Public Utilities Commission
will grant bus line permits when
ever public necessity and conven-
ience can be shown to require such
service.
In the future preference will be
given the existing agencies In ac-
quiring permits to run buses over
specific routes.
These were the policies that were
adopted Wednesday by the commits
sion. and il is expected Walter C..
Allen. secretary to the commi ssiJn.
will make them public officially to-
day.
The commission reaffirmed its po-
siti"n in regard to allowing the
Washington Rapid Transit Com
pany to run a bus line from North
Capitol street and Rhode Island
avenue to Potomac Park AMI 20
Eighth street and Pennsylvania
avenue northwest. A permit was
granted the company last year.
Terminal Is Changed.
The decision. however. changes
the terminal from Rhode island
avenue and North Capitol street 20
Rhode Island avenue and r stree,
northwest, which is block and a
half west of the terminal first set.
The company will be given until
May Is to put the line in ope-ati IN.
Onicials have stated that thel.. cars
Will be "eady to run May I.
Bus stands on Twelfth street
northwest. between G and u streets,
will be removed to Eleventh street,
Immediately south Of Pennsylvania
avenue. according to action taken
by the commission on the complaint
OF the Washington-Virgin Rail-
way Company. The commission
held that the change would re-
move cause for complaint while not
seriously injuring the bus COM
panies.
The application of william Cath
cart to operate a bus line from
Union Station northwest on Massa-
chusetts avenue to Q street and
then west to Thirty-third street
was refused on the grounds that it
ran over much the same route now
used by one OF the lines OF the
Washington Rapid Transit Com
pany.
Hearing Called for May 10.
A public hearing has been called
for May 10 to consider three other
proposed bus lines. One of these is
that OF Cathcart to run a six-bus
line from Nineteenth and Calvert
streets northwest. south to Nine
teenth and X streets, east on X
street to Tenth street northwest,
and then south to Tenth and E
streets northwest.
The application of Albert David
calls for six busses running from
Fifteenth sreet and Maryland ave-
nue. northeast, to Twentieth and B
streets northwest. Paul c. Robin
son asked to operate a one-bus line
from Eighth street and Pennsyl-
vania avenue northwest, to the Dis
trict line, via Pennsylvania avenue.
Cathcart and David are from Jersey
City, n. ].
The change in the northern ter
minal of the bus line that the
Washington Rapid Transit Com
pany will run down Rhode Island
avenue. was made in order to pre-
vent direct and unnecessary COM
petition with the Washington Rail-
way and Electric Company, accord
ing to the Commissioners
"CompetItion' Not Grouads.
Granting franchises to bus
lines by Congress was held by sew
eral District officials to have pos
sibilities detrimental to the best
interests of the bus companies. 1t
was believed they would then be
required to pay a percentage of
their gross receipts into the Dis
trict treasury. besides being re-
quired to pay the cost of certain
corner traffic policing.