Evening star., 1936-06-19
PASS, TOKEN FARE
INCREASES SOUGHT
BY TRANSIT FIRM
Permission Asked to Hike
Former to $1.25 and Lat
ter to 8 1.3 Cents.
WOULD BOOST CHARGES
TO PATRONS $431, 900
Proposal Would Make Rates Uni
form and Eliminate Trans
fer Charges.

Permission to raise the price Of
street car and bus tokens from 71k
cents each to 81s cents each and to
eliminate the present 81 weekly pass
was asked of the Public Utilities Com
mission today by the Capital Transit
Co. Establishment of uniform cash
fare Of 10 cents and discontinuance
OF transfer charges also were requested.
The requests were made in o pro-
posal for a revision" of fares, which,
it was estimated at the District Build
ing, would make street car and bus
patrons pay approximately $431, 900
more year for transportation.
Offered as a follow-up to the COM
pany's repeated pleas for increased
revenue TO meet rising operating ex-
penses-mostly due to a boost in train
mems wages and the cost Of rerout-
ing-the proposal calls for sale of
tokens at the rate of three for a quar-
ter and experimental continuance Of
the SIPS pass, good on both cars and
busSes.
Based on Public Demand.
In two respects the company's hopes
for additional revenue are based OH
public demands-one for uniformity
Of fares and the other for elimination
Of transfer charges.
The proposal is the first major step
taken by the company since its acqui-
sition Of the Washington Rapid Tran
sit Co., which operated the Sixteenth
street bus lines. Both firms were
under the financial control Of the
North American Co., giant utilities
holding corporation.
The company petition will be sub
jected to long and careful study, to
be supported by a thorough investiga-
ton of all pertinent facts, before the
commission acts, it was announced
by Chairman Riley E. Elgen.
A public hearing will be called after
the investigation, but this will not be
before the middle of Septemer, Elgen
said. This is a matter Of utmost
importance" he said. ANY order
that the commission may issue in this
case must have strong enough factual
support to stand any test in court"
Court Appeal Seen.
This was taken to indicate belief
the company might appeal to District
Supreme Court If 1t did not win ap-
proval of the commission for at least
a substantial portion Of its requested
additional revenues.
The commission already has two
other petitions from the company in
the interests of its financial condi-
ton. One is for permission to convert
the 20 new "stream-lined" presidents
conference type cars to one-man op-
Grafton and the other for permission
to put into service so secondhand
one-man cars from Providence. R. I.
Thirty of these secondhand cars
would be used as requirements for
existing one-man cars which should
be retired from service, and the other
20 would be substituted for old two
man cars
The Federation of Citizens Associa-
tions recently opposed not only any
increase in the present number of
one-man cars (there are now II per-
mittedD, but demanded that all ex-
isting one-man cars be replaced with
units Of two-man operation.
The fare revision petition was filed
with the commission by E. D. Merrill,
newly appointed vice president and
general manager of the company. He
formerly was president of the w. r. T.,
which now is being dissolved.
The petition would not disturb the
scent fares in effect on the Chevy
Chase loop line, the Bureau of Stand
ards loop or the Bureau of Engraving
loop.
In arguments for approval Of the
proposal, Merrill said the revised
tariffs would mean lower rates for
many of our patrons" particularly
for all of the patrons of the Sixteenth
street bus line, who now pay straight
10-cent cash fare, or a s1.25 weekly
pass. Merrill said another large group
of passengers would find no change in
their fares, and that "for some it
would mean small increase"