Evening star., 1951-08-04
Staff Prepares
.PUCFindingsin
Transit Hearing
Inquiry Into Service
Recessed Till Friday
For Testimony Study

TOT testimony Stuuy
The Public Utilities Commits
sion has recessed until Friday it's
inquiry into the reasonableness Of
service offered by the Capital
Transit Co., following the COM
pany's spirited defense of its
streetcar and bus operations.
The transit firm finished up
with the last of nine witnesses
late yesterday afternoon. Although
admitting reductions in the main
tenance forces of the company,
the transit men stoutly main
tanned that more efficient methods
have resulted in maintenance that
is even better than in the old days.
PUG Chairman James Flanagan
adjourned the hearing until 10
am. Friday to give the PUG staff
time to prepare its findings. PCC
Counsel Lloyd Harrison SAID he
needs the week to study the lat
est company testimony, including
numerous charts and figures.
Union Contract Held Handicap.
Yesterdays hearing was marked
by testimony from Hyman Feld-
man, automotive maintenance
chief for the transit firm, that
the union contract is handicap
in replacing trained personnel and
is one reason for such mechani-
cal breakdowns as the company's
equipment does suffer.
Herbert Leeman, president Of
the Federation of Citizens Asso-
Citations, asked Mr.. Feldman If
there is any excuse for radiator
tube, for instance, to go bad while
a bus is on the street.
There is never any excuse, but
there are plenty Of reasons" Mr..
Feldman answered.
/ He went on to say that the COM
pany has trouble replacing trained
personnel. He said that in the
first six months of this year, the
bus maintenance crew has lost 204
men out of a total crew of 465.
Many of the men were highly
skilled, he added.
These men went on to other jobs
or went into the armed forces, he
explained.
Even if We want to go out and
hire skilled men to replace them,
the union contract would not allow
it," he said. We're required by
the contract to bring men in at the
Lowest classification-as cleaners
and bring them up through the
ranks"
1 Provides Promotion.
i Mr.. Feldman said the contract
with the union calls for promotion
s of men up through the ranks and
that outside men could be brought
in at the skilled levels only if every
other employe was disqualified for
the job. And such disqualification
is a matter for arbitration, he
added.
Mr. Flanagan said:
"Mr. Leeman expresses amaze
ment and so do I that, if you lose
a highly trained mechanic to the
: Army, you can't replace him"
The PUG chairman hastened to
= add that the commission was not
a going into the matter of labor
contracts, God forbid" and later
refused to allow the clause from
o the contract placed into the rec
y ord. In ruling against Mr.. Lee
h man on this point, Mr.. Flanagan
a said the hearing was to test the
n reasonableness of the service and
# that the union contract had no
$ proper place in the hearing.
j. He also turned down an attempt
by Mr.. Leeman to introduce into
g the hearing the question of Capt.
tai Transit'S earnings. Mr.. Flan-
o agan said the PUG decision on
= the reasonableness of service will
d not depend on the earnings OF
Ie the company.
The last witness to take the
il stand was Max F. Ryan, adminis-
is trative assistant in the claim de-
le partment, who presented evidence
r. of the company's safety record.
Cites Safety Awards.
Mr.. Ryan testified that Capita
Transit has won the top safety
award from the American TRANSIT
Association every year since 194S
except in 1948. That year thI
company was runnerup, he said.
Before that, the PUG heart
&C from Alfred F. Sparshott. assist.
~ ant engineer of way and struc'
&c s lures, who told of the maintenance
20 work on the tracks, Streetcal
II stops and other transit struc
- lures; Alfred E. Savage. equip
ment engineer, who discussed th'
20 reduction Of the maintenance
i force for streetcars, and Dean j
~ Locke, staff engineer, who pre-
N sented further figures to back tht
!, company's contention that fewel
- passengers are using buses anc
y streetcars thal in previous years
Mr.. Locke's testimony Showec
that the number of passengers il
the District has dropped 34.7 PEI
cent since 1946-or from SOB $685.
145 passengers to 329, ,030, $50 il
1850. Total passenger use in thI
X. district arna drnrred % raar. cen