Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-03-10
Senators May
Urge Law 10
Speed Transit
Payne Subcommittee
Considering Steps
To Improve Service
~ Nnn e wnr.au
BY Don S. Worren

~ SVss 80
The Payne Senate subcommit-
tee investigating Washington S
transit problems probably will
outline steps to speed the move
ment of streetcars and buses
and may even recommend leg
islation, if necessary.
This was the outlook of Sena-
tor Payne. Republican. of Maine,
head of the inquiry group, as he
reviewed the mountain of an
swers he had received from city
and Capital Transit Co. officials.
made public yesterday.
Senator Payne saw some prog
ress and some evidence of CO.
operation. but he told a press
conference later he thinks the
city officials and the company
haven't done or tried enough"
Looks for Bold Concepts.
The current crisis in mass
transit Service here. he main
tanned. demands bold new con-
cepts. which he found lacking
in the reports from the District
Commissioners and the Capital
Transit Co.
Senator Payne disavowed any
intention of trying to tell any
administrative agency how it
should run its Office and agreed
that additionally Government
agencies work slowly.
He said the District Commits
sioners have not been asleep"
but he added he thinks they are
too reluctant to propose changes,
or to engage in experiments.
AS for the transit company,
he said. they seem willing to go
along only with proposals bene-
fitting the company but shy
away from anything that could
cost money.
For example, Senator Payne
said. the company is against
converting from streetcars to
buses because it has money in
vested in rails and rolling stock.
IT think the CTC should be
willing to give a little instead of
insisting only on being on the
receiving end" he declared.
Quotes Operating Costs.
He pointed this up by quoting
reports that a 70-passeger bus
can be operated for 40 per cent
less than it costs to run a To-
passenger streetcar.
He emphatically rejected the
idea of Government subsidy to
aid the company in speeding
conversion to buses.
To do that, he said, would be
to give the Transit company a
double layer Of financial aid: The
money. given to speed conversion
and the savings from the lower
cost of the bus operations.
1--WE certainly do not want to
do something just to swell the
net income to the CTC." he
said. 1T is about time that the
management of this company
comes up with some giving in
only in the welfare of the public
onl yin the welfare of the public
in general"
Tax Exemption Study.
Against this background was
the report of the Public Utilities
Commission. the only agency
praised by Chairman Payne. The
commission announced it would
study the possibility of granting
local tax exemption for the
Transit companies. Such con-
ferences are to be undertaken,
the Utilities commission said, if,
the last increase in Capital
Transit fares do not reach mini
mum expectations.
Overriding all such issues. how
ever. were the major conSidera-
tions of how far the authorities
could and would go to speed
mass transit vehicles, in the hope
of keeping them on paying basis,
as against the natural desire of
car owners to use their own cars
or to hire taxis.
In a way, it raised the old
question as to whether the pri-
vate car owner or the public
should be favored. That is.
should Congress let private car
owners have maximum use of the
streets in keeping with re-
cent congressional demands for
expanding downtown parking
spaces? Or should fringe parking
lots be set up, with low fare,
short-haul bus runs to the down.
town area, to promote mass
transit?
No Simple Solution.
Chairman Payne apparently
found. from reading company
and District agency reports,
there are not yet any real solu-
tions.
He threw aside, for the present,
the "idealistic aim" of Leslie Will
liams, the traffic engineer hired
by the utilities commission that
there should be a separate, pub
licly-owned right of way for
rapid transit buses.