Evening star., 1936-01-02
HANNA PROMISES
TRANSIT SERVICE
WILL Be IMPROVED
Head of Company BIameS
Flaws in System on
Heavy Traffic.
ROBERTS CRITICIZED
FOR QUESTIONNAIRES
Invitations to Public to Send in
Complaints Declared I'm
precedented.
picture on Page A-2.)

picture on Page A-2J
Promises of further improvement in
street car and bus service were voiced
today by John Hanna, president OF
the Capital Transit Co., when he teS-
titled before the Public Utilities Com
mission in defense of the con-
Germ against the flood of complaints
heard earlier in the hearings.
Hanna acknowledged there have
been more than a normal number OF
complaints He also said there were
many instances of improper spacing
of equipment, but he blamed this pri-
marily on traffic conditions.
'At the same time, want to
emphasize my conviction the service
here today is as good as that in any
city of the United States" he added
'It is not as good as we would like
it to be, nor as good as it is going
to be-"
Attacks Roberts Indirectly.
Hanna indirectly attacked Peoples
Counsel William A. Roberts for send
ing out missionaries to citizens as
sociations and individuals, urging
them to cite specific isolated COM
plants of faults in service.
I'VE have faced a situation un-
paralleled in the history of any trans
portation utility" he asserted. These
hearings followed upon requests to
citizens associations and individuals
to write or come here and report
upon what they have found in the
service that did not suit them.
mo business institution in the
United States could stand up under
such a systematic attack as that"
Reads Letter From Patron.
Hanna also read into the record a
letter from Mrs. F. w. White, 10l5
Montana avenue northeast, declaring 1t
regrettable that no one. had come for
ward to tell of the good services OF the
concern. The letter declared that in a
city where so many start for and leave
work at the same time, no one could
expect street cars and busses to provide
the convenience and timely service that
might be rendered by private cars.
Discussing automobile congestion as a
handicap to mass transportation, Mrs.
White wrote:
I'VE can't expect street cars to play
leap-frog over automobiles"
Hanna said the letter was sent to
PEOPLES Counsel Roberts, but was not
inserted into the record by Roberts.
Roberts promptly sent to his office
for the reply he had sent to Mrs.
White, in which he sought to explain
that complaints against street car
service were regarded by newspapers
more as news" than testimonials OF
adequate service. This recalled that
newspaper accounts of the past ses-
sions of the hearing carried numerous
statements by witnesses of good fea-
lures of service.
Believes Equipment Adequate.
Hanna said he believed the COM
pany had an adequate amount OF
equipment to meet demands, If busses
and street cars could be properly
spaced. Improper spacing he said, is
due to traffic conditions more than to
anything else.
And traffic conditions now are
worse than ever before" he declared.
He cited lack of sufficient traffic po-
licemen and lack of proper training
of such officers as important reasons
for traffic congestion.
The freezing drizzle which coated all
streets with film of ice this morning
was offered by Hanna as one OF the
many conditions beyond his control.
He said bus service was disrupted at
the peak Of the rush hour.
"Yet we did everything that could
have been DONE" he continued. Two
hours before the ice developed We had
equipment sanding the bus routes, but
at $50 the rain fell on this and froze
over the sand"
More Rerouting Planned.
Hanna commended the Utilities
Commission for the care it had given
to rerouting plans, declaring the
changes were based on moves to give
the best possible service to the greatest
number.
ouI dl1 ilidSS GdlAOlI OAuCldIo
dread rerouting," he said. Those
who are pleased with changes nat
urally say little or nothing about it.
Those not pleased voice complaints.
Our company has been in a state of
constant dux during the two years
OF its existence because of planning
and execution of rerouting. Recruiting
Is not over. and we expect further
important changes which will bring
much greater benefits"
Many of the complaints have been
on the bus service substituted for
Connecticut avenue street car service.
Hanna said the company, at the start,
did not believe the change could be
made.
The company was influenced, how
ever he said, by strong demand for
the change from many riders, and also
because it was found the concern
would not be allowed to operate its
street cars over Taft Bridge in a
move planned to get more direct rout-
ing to the business section. Further.
more, Hanna said, the company had
TO spend vastly more to buy 100
buses. mostly for Connecticut ave-
nue., than it would have cost to re-
build several miles Of worn out street
car rails.