Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-07-05
Protests Buses as
Substitutes for Trans

40 the &oltoL Oh i ne 0tAI.
The substitution of buses for street
cars on the Chevy Chase line seems to
be O foregone conclusion, but to those
Of us who seem in danger Of losing our
comfort and convenience in committing
thereby, the matter deserves at least Q
protest.
I have committed between Chevy
Chase, Nd, and Washington for 26
years and have used practically every
type Of conveyance except q motor cycle
or kiddie car, 30 that feel qualified
to speak from the passengers point
Of view.
That there are faults in the car serv-
ice no one could deny, the most serious
being the tie-ups due to storms, especi-
ally snowstorms; the wearying waits due
to the intervals between cars (Which
run in apparently sacred groups of
three), and the wild swaying Of the cars
on the run between the bridge and
Chevy Chase Lake. The first two of
these complaints apply to the entire
car service of Washington.
The old Chevy Chase cars are COM
Portable, with their wide aisles, clean
seats, head room and doors wide enough
to permit the exit or entry of several
persons at once. What have buses in
exchange? Aisles so narrow that passage
up them must be made sidewise, crab
fashion; seats that too often soil light
clothing, seats with so little knee room
that q passenger in an outside seat
must rise and stand In the aisle to let
an INSIDE" passenger out, thus further
blocking the aisle. The narrow doors
v,,akn Ino hfro orH ,t,,iao diy,r cIauy and
the ceilings are SO low that roomiest
of the buses are most unpleasantly hot
In hot weather. was aStonished to read
in The Star of Saturday, June 40. that
the buses are warmer in Winter and
cooler in Summer than the cars. Often
they are the former, but by no stretch
Of the imagination are they cooler in
Summer. Low roofs and engine heat
attend to that. In addition, they are
often nauseatingly full Of gas.
In the Chevy Chase coaches smoking
was once confined to o rear compart-
ment, but it is now done in any seat.
On this day on which I write I rode
in Q coach in which q man was smok-
ing on the front cross-seat directly be-
hind the driver, his smoke drifting
across the face Of the young girl who
shared the seat. There are still many
OF us Of all ages and both sexes who
object to q morning ride in close quar-
tiers with tobacco smoke, and some Of
them 1t nauseates.
It has been pointed out that the doing
away with platforms and (so-called)
safety zones will make for greater pro-
lection for the bus passenger. True, but
how about the trafic situation, with big
buses weaving in and out among other
machines to draw up to the curb2 How
about the traffic situation, anyway, with
enough buses to carry the erstwhile
street car passengers added to the jam
Of rush-hour traffic? How about so
many more vehicles to slip and skid
when the streets are dangerous with
ice or sleet?
have heard many comments by
Chevy Chase commuters on the ex-
pected change from street car to bus.
I have yet to hear one expressing any
thing but dismay at the prospect. If
we must have buses, helpless as we are
in the matter, need we be told that we
want them or that we think them safer
or more comfortable, or, In face Of the
transferring and rerouting, more con-
venient. FAITH BRADFORD.