Evening star., 1932-09-05
Why Not Try 1t?

Along with his suggestion that the local
street car companies experiment with
five-cent fare for short hauls. retaining
the present ten-cent fare for lcng hau,s.
Peoples Counsel Keech asks the Public
Utilities Commission to hold hearing
at which the subject can be discussed
by the street railway companies, repre-
sentatives of the public and the COM
mission.
The modified zone system suggested
by Mr.. Keech may be impractical. He
does not know. The value of the hear
ing would lie in talking it over. II the
street car companies object, and they
have objected before, something might
be proposed as a substitute. If the
street car companies are in bad way
and they are in BAD way here and
elsewhere-the first step toward enlist
ing public interest and cooperation in
finding remedies lies in intelligent dis
cussion.
Undoubtedly Mr.. Keech's suggestion
Is In line with the relatively new idea
of merchandising, or popularizlng'
such services as transportation. The
railroads are pursuing that policy py
offering hitherto unheard-of bargains
and they are attracting a considerable
patronage. The United States Cham
Der of Commerce committee report on
"City Passenger Service" now being
sent to a national referendum, notes
that an increasing number of street
railway and bus companies have been
experimenting with authorized de-
partures from this basic fare-the basic
fare subject to regulatory authority
to encourage riding in the non-peak
hours when the cars and buses other
wise have few riders. These expert
ments include (a) rates for regular
riders, weekly passes and tickets, re-
duced rates for tokens in quantity,
Sunday passes, offpeak passes and
family passes; (b) special rates for on
peak riders, and (c) rates according to
distance. Experimentation along these
lines and by the street railway COM
panies Is being co-ordinated and studied
by a committee Of the American Elec-
tric Railway Association, and 1t Is be-
lieved these efforts hold much promise
for increased income with little in
creased operating expense"
In Baltimore the City Council has
within the last few days approved an
agreement with the United Railways,
in the form Of an ordinance, which
was proposed to head off the railway
company's threatened receivership. One
of its features Is fare reduction,
slight as 1t may be, to take effect
within three months after the COM
pany completes a financial reorganiza-
ton reducing its fixed charges by
little over a million dollars a year.
Much has been made Of the fact that
the taxicab has stolen increasing pat
ronage from the car lines by reducing
the cost Of taxi riding, while the car
companies heretofore have sought to
make up losses by raising fares. That
argument Is not Wnoly convincing.
There are other factors to be considered.
But the fact remains that the local
companies have not tried the appeal to
their riders pocketbooks, an appeal
that comes nearest touching the hu-
man heart.
The Baltimore agreement provides
that If the fare reduction does not work
the Public Service Commission may be
asked to restore rates to their present
figure. Why cannot the Public Utilities
Commission and the street car COM
panies agree to some Of the experiments
suggested in the United States Cham
ber of Commerce report, with the
understanding that they are merely ex-
periments?