The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-02-01
City Commission Passes Ordi-
nance Requiring Use of Meters.
Before License Is Issued Meters
Must Be Tested.
IS CENTS FOR FIRST MILE
Charge for Each Additional
Half Mile Is 10 Cents.
Auto Stage Line May Be Estab-
Iished to Suburbs.

Not every taxicab in Topeka will
blossom out this afternoon or tomor-
row morning with a taXi-meter estab-
lished thereon, altho the city ordi-
nance requiring the use of the meters
will be published and effective to-
night.
Before a taxicab license can be is
sued" George T. Mattinsly. city Ii
cense collector, asserted today, the
applicant must file a certificate of in
demnfty insurance with the city clerk,
and have it approved by the city com
mission. Then I shall have to test the
meter, and after the meter has passed
the test. can issue the license"
Miss Eta CovelI, city clerk, stated
at noon today that none of the appli-
cents for taxicab licenses had yet filed
their certificates of insurance with
T her.
MattingIy has laid off a two mile
stretch, carefully measured by the city
engineer. on Topeka boulevard, which
he will use in testing the meters. THE
meters must not show an error of
more than per cent which means
264 feet" Mattingly said today.
Roy Payne. OF the Yellow Cab com
81 pany Of Topeka. announced today that
the scale Of prices which will go into
effect with the installation of the me-
ters is the lowest. with one exception, |
in the United States.
1.-The yellow Cab company of Chi !
cago has a lower rate than ours. tho
the Chicago ordinance gives a higher !
margin" Payne said today.
The New Taxi Rate
The new taXicab rate will be So |
cents for the first mile, and 10 cents !
tor each additional half mile. Kan
Sas City has rate of so cents for the
first mile, and 20 cents for each addi- |
tlonal half mile.
The new rate which will be put into |
effect by Payne with the enforcement |
of the ordinance means that the fare |
Tor one person anywhere in the bust |
ness distrtct-from the Santa Fee
depot, for instance, to the Rock Island 1
depot or to any hotels thirty-five |
cents instead of fifty cents. To the |
Union Pacific depot, which is slightly |
more than mile, the far will be |
forty-five cents-still a reduction over
the present rate. The fare for one
person from down town to Washburn |
college, now fifty cents. will be in
creased to siXty-five cents. For two |
persons, however, the fare will be 81, |
the same as at the present time.
It now costs $3.50 for one or two !
persons to be carried to the Tubercu- !
losis sanatorium east of the city. I'm i
der the new rate 1t will be seventy
five cents for one passenger, or $1.I0 /
for two
Ihcre have been several applica-
tons for licenses to operate a jitney,
in the past few days. Mattingly stated.
He believes that with the enforcement
of the new taxi-cab law, there will be
a large number of new jitney busses
in town.
Auto Stage Lines.
Another effect which he believes the
ordinance will have. is the establish
ment of automobile stage lines FRONT
inside the city limits of Topeka to
towns and suburbs outside the city
limits.
The city cannot charge a license
fee against the man who carries pas
sengers from inside Topeka to some
point outside the city limits, or vice
versa" Mattingly said. "a line of
CANS or automobiles can be operated
to Seaman. to Oakland. or even down
thru Burlingame. Scranton, Carbon
Gale and those town to Usage City |
without paying any city license fee. so
long as they do not both pick up and
set down d passenger inside the city.
] look for number of the men who
have been operating independent
Ia Xica bs i'll Topeka, and who cannot
or do not care to pay the cost of in
Sailing the meters and getting the in
surance, to set into that line of bust
ness"