Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-06-02
New Utilities Commission
Member Sees in Plan
Substitute for Merger.
BETTER SERVICE SEEN
IN PROPOSED CHANGES
Immediate Need, He Says, Is Bet
ter Cross.Town Service Now
Provided by Buses.
BY JAMES E. CHINN.


Friday as member Of the Public Util-
tiles Commission, yesterday began an
exhaustive study of Washington's trans
portation problem with view to bring
ing about, If possible, an operating
unification of the transit lines which
would give the public substantially the
same benefits offered in the deceased
merger plan of the companies.
Through general rerouting of the
car and motor bus lines which the COM
mission has authority to order, Mr..
Hartman believes the standard of serv-
ice can be materially improved and
that economies in operation can be
effected which would remove the pres
ent specter of increased fares.
Better service and more economical
operation which would tend to keep car
fares from rising to new level, Mr..
Hartman pointed out, are virtually all
that the transit companies held out to
the public in the way of benefits in
their own merger agreement which ex-
pired yesterday. These same BENEFITS.
he confidently feels, can be brought
about by the commission without the
necessity or formality of such con-
solidation as agreed to by the transit
utilities.
Sees Need for Rerouting.
Like other public utility experts who
have studied Washington's transporta-
ton problem, Mr.. Hartman sees an
urgent need for a general rerouttng OF
both the traction and bus lines If there
is to be any marked improvement in
service, and he has let 1t become
known that unless the service is bet
tered he would not be inclined to ap-
prove any application for higher fare.
The immediate need, he said, Is better
cross-town service, which on account
of the existing structure Of the street
railway systems, must be provided by
motor buses.
Mr.. Hartman is using as the basis Of
his study of the transportation situa-
ton the voluminous report Of the
Charles Hansel consulting specialists
on the comprehensive survey it made
1927 for the public utilities committee
Of the Federation of Citizens Associa-
tions. This report came as a prelude
to the merger negotiations of the transit
companies, and represented the most
thorough analysis of transportation con-
ditions since the McClelland and
Junkersfeld survey of 1928.
Report Contains Details.
The 'Hansel report contains a de-
tailed scheme Of rerouting, which Mr..
Hartman said he planned to study
thoroughly, and it is likely that any
move he may make to reroute existing
lines will be based on the recommen-
dations Of the Hansel engineers.
The ideal system, according to the
Hansel engineers, would be one which
would give a direct route from every
section Of the city with cars spaced at
close intervals. This, however, the en-
gineers found to be an impossible plan
in Washington. The routing plan sug-
gested consisted of a system of II
routes, with four through routes, two
operating east and west and two
operating north and south.
The principal points Of the suggested
routing, however, which affected traf1c
in the contested business area, were
these:
Elimination Of the present compli-
Gated and congested movements at
Fifteenth street and New York avenue
by the substitution Of simplified one
turning movement between Pennsyl.
vania avenue and Fifteenth street.
Would Remove Car Traffic.
Removal of all street car traffic from
New York avenue between Eleventh and
Fifteenth streets.
Installation of new tracks on Twelfth
and Thirteenth streets between E and
H streets.
Removal of all street car service from
F street between Eleventh and Four
teenth streets. F street, since it is
blocked by the Treasury on the western
end and the Patent once Building on
the eastern end, the Hansel engineers
found, Is neither desirable nor useful
as through traffic street. AS it is
one OF the most important mercantile
thoroughfares, they explained, it should
be well served. In this connection, they
pointed out, that between Fourteenth
street and Ninth street, F street is either
used by or interSected by 10 of the Il
street car routes serving the entire city.
The through routes north and south
as suggested by the Hansel engineers
cross the central business district on
Seventh and Fourteenth streets, and
the two through routes from east and
west operate on g street and Penn
sylvania avenue. The other routes
operating into the city center are
looped back on four loops as follows:
Thirteenth street loop formed by
Twelfth, Thirteenth, H and E streets;
Eleventh street loop formed by Ninth,
e and K streets or New York
avenue; G street loop formed by F, G.,
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