Evening star., 1950-01-01
Capital Transit
Expected 10 Ask
Raise This Week
Company Preparing
Data Over Week End ;
Fate of Pass in Doubt

The Capital Transit Co. is ex-
pected to apply to the Public Util-
tiles Commission shortly-possibly
this week-for an increased fare.
1t was learned yesterday that
company accountants and others
involved in the preparation of the
fare increase petition and support
ing data would work over the New
Years week end.
How large a fare the company
is expected to ask still is a mat
ter of speculation. 1t appears
certain, however, that the cash
fare to be requested will be at
least Is cents. Whether the COM
pany will seek to retain the weekly
pass, asking more for it than the
present SITS. is also matter of
conjecture.
The last time the company asked
for fare increase it requested this
schedule: 15-cent cash fare, two
tokens for 25 cents, $1.85 for the
weekly pass.
Other Cities Raise Fares.
The Public Utilities Commits
sion, however, ordered the pres
ent scale of fares which is 13
cents, three tokens for IS cents
and $1.75 for the weekly pass. It
became effective October 81, 1s4s.
Since then the transit COM
panies in some cities have pushed
their fares to Is cents or more.
In Chicago. the Transit Authority's
rapid transit division, which had
established a 15-cent fare in May,
1948, pushed it to II cents last
October. The surface division.
which had 15-cent fare in June.
1948, established a 15-cent fare
last October.
Last August, Boston put into
effect scale ranging from cents
for rides on most of the surface
lines to 20 cents for combination
surface -subway-surface trip. It
announced few days ago that on
January % the scent fares would
be eliminated under a new scale
having 10-cent minimum with
most riders paying Is cents.
Philadelphia charges Is cents,
or three rides for 40, if transfers
are issued.
Three Cities Have Passes.
Washington, Cleveland and Los
Angeles are the only cities among
the dozen largest where a weekly
pass is sold. In Cleveland, where
the fare is 13 cents with four rides
for so cents, the price of the pass
is $1.80.
The Los Angeles Transit Lines,
which have a 10-cent cash fare,
charges $i.75 for the pass. Two
other companies there, the Pacific
Electric Railway, which operates
rail lines and buses. and the Los
Angeles Motor Coach Co., elimi-
mated the pass in February, 1948.
ST. Louis eliminated the pass
last March. =
At the Capital Transit rate
hearing before the PUG in 1913,
the commission considered abol-
ishing the weekly pass but the
company urged that it be retained.
The company said then that It'll
considered the pass under its
present or an extended volume
of use to be of benefit not only
to its customers but to the
company" /
Proposals Excluded Pass.
The latest discussion of fare
involving the pass occurred dur
ing the Capital Transit wage
arbitration which resulted in a /
10-cent-an-hour wage increase.
j. E. Heberle, vice president and
controller of the company, said
it would need a fare increase
even though there was no wage
increase.
He cited two schedules of high
er fares, neither one included a |
weekly pass.
In one there would be a 15-cent
cash fare with two tokens for Is
cents. In the other the cash fare
would be also Is cents but tokens
would be sold at four for so
cents, yielding more return to the
company because more. riders
would pay the cash fare.
But, he said, neither schedule
would yield sufficient return,
which may be an indication the
company will ask for a fare high
or fhoYo 16 oop&e