Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-06-01
Too Much Space Is Taken in
Crowded Public Places,
They Are Told.
BUILDING OF TERMINAL
SEEN AS BEST SOLUTION
Hotel Men Join With Bus Lines
in Urging Most Central
Location.

Opposition to the location Of any
general interstate bus terminal outside
the downtown congested area of Wash
ington as means of relieving traffic
was voiced today by E. D. Merrill. pres
ident and general manager of the
Washington Rapid Transit Co.. and
managers OF several downtown CONNER
c!al hotels at the opening Of public
hearing TO-DAY before the Public Utilities
Comm, 1Sicn and the District Commits
"icncrS.
To serve useful purposes Of suburban
passengers, Mr.. Merrill testified, such
q terminal should be located south o.
< street and principally south Of II
street between Ninth and Fifteenth
streets.
Defend Bus Lines.
Interstate bus transportation was de-
fcnded by the hotel men at the hearing
because of its cheapness and conven-
fence In taking passengers to hotels ant
other points in the downtown section
OF the city. Restriction of a terminal
outside the roughly defined congested
area, they testified. would undoubtedly
lnlure their individual hotel trade At
least one Of the hotel men. however
F. H. Neason, manager of the Annapolis
Hotel--agreed with Richmond B. Keech,
peoples counsel, that terminal located
within walking distance of the hotel
area possibly would not result in any
hardships.
In brief opening statement, Gen.
Mason NJ. Patrick, chairman of the
Public Utilities Commission, stated that
the operation of buses in the city has
raised problem which must be solved
in considering the congestion of traffic
More than score Of witnesses were on
hand at the opening session. which wild
be devoted TO all phases of the opera
ton of interstate BUSES: their use of
public space as terminals: the desir-
ability of their providing terminals on
private property; their equipment and
all other related subjects
Sees Need for Study.
The questio in interstate bus ope-
ration has become so important,
Chairman Patrick said. that the COM
mlttee feels that the various routes and
the stops that are made on such routes
must be definitely determined and
strictly adhered to. On the other hand,
he said, the question has raised doubt
in the public mind as to whether these
buses should be allowed to operate at
all within the congested area. He in
dicated that the hearings would open
up the whole question as the commits
sion desired all possible light on the
general subject
With the first phase of the hearing
dealing with the problem of interstate
buses to traffic conditions in Washing
ton, Jonathan Gibson, counsel for tins
Chester Valley g. Red Eastern State
Bus Lines, called Russell A. Conn, man
ager of the Hamilton Hotel, as the first
of several witnesses. Other hotel men
were W. P. PlyInale, manager
of the Gordon Hotel, and Mr.. NeaSon Of
the Annapolis Hotel.
Question Witnesses.
W. A. Roberts, assistant corporation
counsel. and w. w Bride, corporation
counsel, took part in the questioning of
the witnesses.
Mr.. Keech tried to bring out testi-
mony to the effect that BUSES stand
ing at the terminals had the effect of
either stopping or diverting traffic, but
none of the various witnesses heard this
expressed an opinion that
traffic was really inconvenience by
these conditions. The hotel men par
ticularly favored keeping bus stations
where they now are located because of
the easy access to the hotels.
Commissioner Harleigh H. Hartman
interjected with suggestion that sew
eral of the downtown hotels had been
torn down or discontinued, and with
the tendency to build the newer hotels
outside the congested area. it was not
wholly necessary for terminals to be
located within the restricted area.
Bus Lines Defended.
Mr. Nelson, in discussing the general
location Of hotels. testified that the big
gest percentage was situated in the
area, or just on its edge
Appearing as counsel for the Wash
ington Rapid Transit Co.. George 3.
Hoover INTERCEPTED Mr.. Merrill of the
company at length about the various
routes operated by the company to
Maryland suburban points.
He developed that check had been
made which showed that the maximum
passenger load Of the Maryland buses
was reached at Scott Circle. Approx
mately 80 per cent Of the passengers
leave the bus south of 9 street.
MIR. Merrill doubted whether the
buses interfered with traffic, declaring
that their use as public carriers in
economizing street space ought to have
a bearing on the general traffic ques-
tons before the commission.