The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1930-12-22
PUBLIC-0WNED
TRANS PAY IN
SAN FRANCISCO
Scent Fare Is Maintained,
Improvements Made and
High Wages Paid.

Municipal ownership and opera
tion Of street railways is successful!
With proper management aid di-
rectton. q city-owned .compsny can
operate with q low fare, make
needed Improvements and pay high
wagesl
The history Of the San Francisco
municipal railway proves this.
On May Is, 1923, Mayor Rolph Of
San Francisco declared: "All want
everybody to know is that our mu-
nicipal railway has been a gold
mine!"
Indianapolis citizens who feel
that the city should take over the
local transportation system and
operate it can get plenty Of am
Inuhition for their arguments from
the history Of the San Francisco
line. which has, since 1912. been in
competition with a private trans
porfation system.
Fiye-Cent Fare Maintained
In all those years a scent fare
has been maintained and there has
been no deficit except for 1880, when
1t was found that, optimistic over
the. success Of the line, too many
extensions were made and it is
necessary to appropriate $4,000 of
the citys funds to pay the interest
on bonds.
Here is what the transportation
League of San Francisco has to say
about the municipality owned sys-
tem:
Since 1912, the benefits to the
city from municipal street car oper-
alton has totaled more than $183,-
100000"
Or this sum, s6,936, POI was repre-
scented as an actual operating profit.
Millions Saved for Public
In addition, it is claimed that
by maintaining the scent fare on
its own lines and so on the COM
peting private lines, the municipal
road has saved the car riders ST.
100000, while a round 100000 600
more was set forth as the increase
in land values because of railway
extensions.
A survey of the financial record
AZ the end of its eighteenth year OF
operation made by the San Fran
cisco News, a Scripps- Howard news
paper, reveals the following:
Tvt&tl cash revenues from fares
and all other sources since Dec 10,
1912, have in round figures totaled
$4,000 ,00O
Total operating expenses. includ-
ing maintenance of tracks and cars,
cost of electric power, wages of en-
pioyes and salaries of officials and
miscellaneous expenses approx
mate $36,OOOOO0.
Profit Paid by Road
As the difference between the
above two figures is $12,000,000,
then the income of the municipal
railways has been sufficient to pay
ell operating expenses and leave a
margin of $1200000
This margin has been expended
as follows: Various bond issues
voted to build the municipal car
lines total $5,500,0O0 The interest
on these bonds to date. amounting
to about 900 has all been paid
out of the railways revenues. This
reduces the margin to about So
62500O
Bonds totaling s2,8O0,OOo have
matured so far and have been paid
out of the revenue, bringing the
margin down to $5,825,000.
Further reductions for accident
claims paid and for other neces-
sary expenses have trimmed the
margin down to $4,500,000.
Extensions Are Built
Of this last amount $4,000,000 has
been spent for railway extensions
and improvements and purchases of
new equipment in the wave of OPP
timism which surrounded success
full operation of the railroad. And
only because of this must the city
pay the $157,50O bond interest. The
only funds to be taken from the
city treasury in eighteen years of
operation.
Critics of the Municipal railway
make much of the fact that it pays
NO taxes. They assert that the pri-
vate company gets by" in spite
of having to pay about 100000
year in taxes; and since both sys-
TENS operate at the cents fare,
they point to this as evidence that
the privately owned lines must be
operated much more efficiently.
Pay Employees Good Wages
But what these critics neglect to
say, the San Francisco News points
out, is that the municipal lines pay
their employees much better wages.
The municipal carmen have
basic eight-hour day and six
day week and are paid at the rate
of rs cents an hour In addition
they get twelve working days vaca-
ton on pay each year, and they
enjoy the advantages of pension
fund. half of which is contributed
by the railway. If vacations, PEN
sionS and other benefits are counted
in their actual pay the total is
nearly 81 cents an hour.
The private line carmen, on the
other hand. work a ten-hour day
+ SofeN for Sovinos