Evening star., 1942-09-16
Georgia Avenue
Express Cars
Considered
Public Roads Official
To Give PUG Views
On Bus Services

Possibilities of establishing ex-
press streetcar service on long
stretch of the Georgia avenue car
line were being considered by the
Public Utilities Commission today
as 1t resumed hearings on proposals
for express buses on upper Sixteenth
street and associated changes In
service.
The commission today was to hear
the views of F. w. Lovejoy. Public
Roads Administration official, as
spokesman for the Washington
Regional Committee of the Defense
Transportation Administration, as
to what changes should be made IN
the interest of saving bus miles ana
meeting transportation demands.
Since the present plan for con-
yerting many Sixteenth street buses
TO express service calls for shuntlng
many North Washington bus riders
to the Georgia avenue car line,
Dean J. Locke, staff engineer OF the
Capital Transit Co., suggested that
car service might be made more
attractive by institution OF street.
car express service between New
Hampshire and Massachusetts ave-
nues NV.
Would Require Adjusting Light.
He said this was possibility that
might be accomplished by estab-
lishment of local bus service along
Georgia avenue and Seventh street
to take care of passengers who could
not board or leave the Georgia ave-
nue. cars in this area. Also, he ex-
planned, traffic lights would have to
be rearranged so that the express
streetcars could go through with
out stops that would absorb the
possibilities in time savings.
Mr.. Locke described the pending
proposal for running various groups
of express buses from different
points on upper Sixteenth street to
three downtown terminals as i'm
practical" and said public incon-
venience would result.
This plan, outlined by Carl w.
Harris, PUG engineer, was based
on the PUG origin and destination
survey completed last June. Mr..
Locke declared the origin and destl-
nation survey was as dead as a
dodo."
To prevent establishment of ex-
press bus service on upper Sixteenth
street from bleeding" the Georgia
avenue carlines of present passen-
ger loads, PUG engineers have pro-
posed the elimination Of bus service
on Alaska avenue between Georgia
avenue and Sixteenth street, a part
of the So line. This suggestion
has brought protests from residents
In the area. The plan is that per-
sons living in the Alaska avenue
area should walk either to the
Georgia avenue carline or to the
Sixteenth street buses.
Gives Figures on Use.
Mr.. Locke said more than 1000
persons daily use the So buses and
that more than 1,400 use stops
along Alaska avenue. He made no
recommendation as to whether this
portion OF the bus service should
be stopped, leaving tnat 10 'iie
Judgment of the commission. How
ever, he said the Georgia avenue
carline could handle at least 1900
additional passengers.
Referring again to the proposal
for Sixteenth street express bus
service, the company witness de-
clared the plan "far too drastic,
would take too much time anc
personnel to put it into effect, ane
he added that its results were
"clouded in great doubt" The com
pany, he said, Gid not want to dis.
turb public riding habits seriously
unless there was good reason tt
believe the savings in bus mile'
would be considerable.
The company, Mr.. Locke said
would not object to trying an ex
pertinent that was "less compre
hensive" If 1t were planned unde
proper auspices" BY this phras'
he said he meant "factual infor
nation rather than surmises recog
nized as no longer applicable II
the transportation problem"