Evening star., 1925-11-15
BUS LINE PROBLEM
GROWS ACUTE HERE
Unified System, Central Ter
minaI and Ban on Parking
Urged as Solutions.
BY j. A. O'LEARY.


steadily for local transportation and
for interstate business. the Public
Utilities Commission finds itself with
an increasingly difficult problem to
handle in the regulation of this mod
ern mode of travel.
Persons in touch with the situa-
ton agree that the bus is destined to
continue to grow in use as a supple
mentary means Of transportation.
In the realm of local travel the
problem has developed into one of
competition, with the Washington
Railway and Electric Company, the
Capital Traction Company and the
Washington Rapid Transit Company
in the field of bus operation.
In the case of the interstate lines.
running to Maryland, Virginia. and
even as far as Philadelphia, the prob
lem has become one of getting a CEN
trail terminal building that would elimi-
nate the use of the streets as lay-over
points.
Maj. w. E. r. Covell, assistant en-
gineer commissioner assigned to utility
matters, believes the ultimate solu-
ton of the local bus problem lies in a
unified system. He believes that COM
petition, in the long run. Is not an
advantage In city transportation.
pointing out that 1t tends to prevent
the laying out of an orderly system Of
bus lines.
Favors Unified System.
Maj Covell said he thought there
should be a unified bus system and
one street railway system. Looking
ahead into the future, he predicted
that the street car lines would con-
tinue to give the service they now
render. with bus lines furnishing
different class Of service, utilizing the
diagonal avenues to link the various
sections Of the city together.
There are two distince purposes
for the motor bus in the future, as I
see it, Maj. Covell said. First, as
feeders to the main street car lines
in reaching new and sparsely settled
outlying sections. Secondly, by giving
supplementary type Of urban serv-
Ice, using the avenues on which there
are no street cars"
Commissioner Cuno H. Rudolph ex-
pressed the belief that & merger of
the systems is the solution of the
transportation problems which come
before the commission. Mr.. Rudolph
also held the view that the motor
bus would continue to be utilized in
preference to rail extensions to meet
requirements for service into new To-
calities.
Mr. Rudolph also cited the need for
central terminal building to solve
the problem OF what to do with the
many interstate bus lines which are
using the streets. The Commissioner
said the terminal probably would have
to be located on the outer edge of the
downtown congested zone. because of
the cost involved in locating it in the
center Of the congested area.
Thinks Competition Helps.
Leon Arnold, president of the Wash
ington Rapid Transit Co., took the
view that competition between local
bus lines is desirable, contending that
it results in improved service.
William F. Ham, president of the
Washington Railway and Electric Co.,
discussing the future of the motor bus
in local transportation. said he be-
lieved busses would continue to be
used in coordination with street car
service. Mr.. Ham pointed out how
ever, that the street car Is still the
most economical vehicle from the
standpoint of the amount of street
space required to transport a large
number of passengers.
The problem of the space taken up
by interstate and other busses having
special parking places assigned to
lueIn III the uOWItOWH SeCllOn Will
come before the board of District
Commissioners probably this week IN
the form Of a suggested regulation
which would prevent all busses that
carry 10 or more passengers from
parking downtown longer than Is
necessary to take on and let Off pas
sengers.
The plan is to have these places
marked mo parking where busses
could stop to discharge and take on
passengers, but they would not be
allowed under the proposed rule to
lay-over in these spaces.
Thinks New Law Needed.
Maj. Covell also suggested yester-
day in discussing motor bus problems
that there may develop a need for
legislation by Congress for the regu-
lation of interstate bus lines.
At the present time the utilities
commission is required to issue per-
mits for the entrance of interstate
bus lines into the city after they have
obtained authority from the other
Jurisdiction.
Scarcely a month passes nowadays
without the filing of one or more ap-
plications for the establishment of a
new motor bus line or for the exten-
sion of an existing one. During the
past two months new applications
have been coming in even more fire.
quently. The commission at the pres
ent time has four or five petions pend
of the two railway companies.