Evening star., 1934-08-14
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an Other States ana Canada
Member of The Associated Press.
Transit Company and Track Plans

&AdHSII OO1uPd d1lu AAdCh AoAAS
At the hearing scheduled for to-
morrow before the Public Utilities
Commission on the subject of the
rerouting of street cars and the sub
stitution of buses for tracked lines,
the Capital Transit Company, through
its president, will offer plan which
will combine the best features" of
the six plans that have been pro-
posed by the Beeler survey. Mr..
Hanna indicates, in announcing this
intention, that there is no disposition
to. oppose the general purpose to
effect a Encouragement of the tracks
In the interest of better service and
reduction of congestion. He says:
There is no conflict in the objectives
of the commission, public or the COM
pany. We are all aiming to furnish
such an arrangement of tracks and
such a routing of cars as will give
the public the best possible tranSpor-
tation service consistent with require
ments of traffic other than street cars
and busses and without unnecessarily
increasing the very large amount of
money which will have to be paid
! for track changes no matter what
plan is adopted.
In such a spirit there is no sug-
gestion of antagonism toward the gen.
eral purpose to amend the systems
which were consolidated by the merger.
Indeed, the very unification Of the
traction companies was predicated
upon the assumption that the various
lines would be harmonized into a
consistent traction unit. The COM
ponents of the merger were them
selves the result Of mergers. and dur
ing the years preceding the final
combination very little was done to
reduce needless trackage, the COM
panies postponing until such time as
they might be brought into single
ownership and management the ad-
justments which the consultations,
both original and final, entailed in
the public interest as well as in the
interest of a more economical and
more efficient operation.
The transit company, it appears
from Mr.. Hanna's statement, accepts
as essential the reduction of needless
trackage on Fourteenth street and
New York avenue, the "ganglion" area
in which the service is now dangerous
and inefficient. AS to other features
Of the project of correction there are
differences of opinion. Indeed, prob
ably no plan can possibly be advanced
that will meet with universal approval.
The abandonment Of certain lines
will be protested by the people who
have been using them for many years.
The substitution of buses for cars will
be protested by those who prefer the
more commodious unit carrier. There
will inevitably be dispute regarding
the effect of changes in the congested
region, which may merely shift the
burden from one street to another.
But there must be a broad plan,
however much it may cost and what
ever may be the changes in the riding
habits of the people that are involved,
to correct the conditions that have
been endured for many years and that
If not amended will increase in danger
to the public as the population grows.
The best plan, in the Judgment of the
Public Utilities Commission, is likely
to be a compromise between the sew
eral proposals of the Beeler survey
and the recommendations of the
transit company. The consideration
Of cost, important though it is, will
presumably not be the finally deter
mining factor, for these changes are,
aSsumably, for virtually all appre-
ciable time, effecting a fundamental
system from which no departure Is
likely to occur in many decades.