Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1949-12-20
Woshinqton's Transit Crisis

US0luS tOH fIuuSu >'iS'S
It is no exaggeration to say that Wash
tngton faces transit crisis. Nor Is there
any consolation in the fact that the Dis
trict is not alone in this respect. The
American Transit Association in conven-
ton at Atlantic City was told recently that
Gin all large cities and many small ones the
transit industry is in serious trouble" The
industry, it was declared, is caught In a
squeeze between advancing costs and fall
ing income"
The squeeze has been on in Washington
ever since the war years. AS Francis P.
Douglas points out in the news section OF
The Star today in the first OF series OF
articles on the local transit situation, tram
sit patronage has been dropping off steadily
during the postwar period. This decline
was accelerated by the fare increases OF
May, 1947, and october, 1s4S Any addi-
tional fare raise is apt to cause further
decline in traffic load.
It is against this dark background that
the wage increases ordered by the transit
arbitration board present an omlnous as
pect. Even before the wage award the
Capital Transit Company was giving
thought to another request for higher
fares It estimated that its net income for
the next twelve months would be barely
enough to keep it's books out OF the red
That the company soon will present
formal petition to the Public Utilities Com
mission for another fare boost or a re-
duction in service or both, Is certainty.
But fare increases are not always an ade-
l11fio nf transit
financial difficulties. There is point be-
You'd which further fare increases cannot
Ego without running into the law OF dimin-
ishing returns. It is possible for the fare
raise cure to kill the patient, especially one
which already is in critical condition. 1t
is worth noting that the Cincinnati transit
system recently rejected higher fares in
fear that the increased revenues would be
Offset by declining patronage and other
means of financial aid from the city were
sought.
The Capital Transit Company is under
standably reluctant to ask for higher rates,
In view of it's own experience with pas
senger losses. Every increase narrows the
margin between transit and taxicab fares
here, and taxicabs already are major COM
petitors of streetcars and buses. That
the present fare structure will be sub
jected to an overhauling Is probably inev-
liable. But it is manifest that Washington
is headed in the direction Of some form
of Government subsidy which will make up
the deficit between operating costs and
revenue That is happening elsewhere.
The ultimate step may be public ownership
and operation, supported from public funds
plus fares.
There is one unfair drain on the COM
panys' finances which only Congress can
correct. This is the outmoded three-cent
fare for school children-a privilege that
is subject to understandable abuses. When
this rate was decreed by law in 1888 the
token fare was only IN cents, and the
rate was not greatly out Of line with the
half fares prevailing in most other cities.
Today Washington is reported to be the
only large city in the country with less
than five-cent fare for school children.
There is no justification whatever for this
discrimination, by law, against the local
company. A flve-cent school fare would
add approximately $4,000 year to COM
pany revenues When Washington's tran
sit troubles come up for discussion at the
next session of Congress, as they probably
will, the absurdly low school fare should be
given special attention. If it is correct to
subsidize school children's school fares
the subsidy should come from the Govern
ment-not the company.