Evening star., 1947-01-17
Capital Transit
Asks $3.50 Pass,
End Of Tokens
10-Cent Gosh Fare
Sought; Company
Cites Income Drop
By John w. Thompson, Jr

The Capital Transit Co. today
asked the Public Utilities Com
mission for an increase in bus
and streetcar fares.
The company filed plan to wipe
out the present tokens now sold
three for a quarter and to increase
the cost Of the $125 weekly pass to
$1.s0. A date for a public hearing
on the case was asked.
Elimination of the tokens would
leave adult riders the choice Of
paying the straight cash fare of 10
cents per ride or buying the weekly
pass. Not affected is the Scent
fare now paid by school children on
school days.
Drop in Net Income Reported.
The petition for the boost has
been expected since the wage strike
of the bus and streetcar operators
year ago last fall. E. D. Merrill,
company president, told the COM
mission, however, the application
was made reluctantly" and only
after careful study. There has been
no transit fare adjustment since
1887, he said
Mr.. Merrill gave as the reason for
the application the declining net in
come of the company under present
operating conditions. The down.
ward trend in net income, he said, If
allowed to continue, would wreck
the company credit and hurt transit
service.
The new rates, If approved, are
expected to yield an additional net
income of from 81 900 900 to 81 ,300,-
900 year, it was said.
6h-Cent Ride on Pass.
To those who buy the weekly pass,
the new rate would mean an in
crease estimated by the company at
1-cent per ride. Officials said an
average of 81 rides per week are
made on each pass. Taking from
this the average number of transfer
rides, the company said, the net
rides per week per pass Is "a. This
means, it was added, the rides now
cost 5h cents each and would cos.
6h cents under the new schedule.
"The proposed rate structure will
continue to favor the pass riders"
Mr.. Merrill declared. "It will retain
for them local transit bargain at
Ian average fare per ride as low as
almost anywhere in the United
States"
Pass riders are purposely favored,
the company said, because they con-
stitute the bulk of the transit Gus
1 toners.
Suburban Areas Affected.
All classes of weekly passes issued
, by the company, including those for
communities beyond the District
lime, would be affected by the pro-
posed 25-cent boost.
A company official said this results
from the fact that the rates imposed
by the Maryland and Virginia COM
missions are superimposed on the
District rate to arrive at the tota!
rate for the communities in those
States. For example, he said, q
weekly pass to Garrett Park, now
costs $2.25, of which SIPS is the Dis
trict rate and $100 the Maryland
fare. If the new rate is approved
/ for the District, the Garrett Park
fare will cost $150 plus $100 or
total of $3.50.
The company has no immediate
plans for asking the Maryland and
Virginia commission for increases IN
their rate zones, he added.
The $4,000 school child fares now
collected by the company each school
day will continue to be what the
utility said is "about the lowest
school rate in the country" Other
Jurisdictions in most cases charge
nickel for school children, 1t was
said.
Wants Fair Dividends.
While maintenance of service and
credit are given as two reasons for
the increase asked, the company
(See TRANSIT FARES, Page A-4o