Evening star., 1955-08-22
Traffic and Passengers Light
As Buses Roll Again Here
SO Pct. Drop
Reported in
Patronage
BY HERMAN r. SCHADEN AND
GEORGE BEVERIDGE

Green streetcars and silver
buses, resembling something
from the almost forgotten past.
appeared on the streets Of
Washington today for the first
time in nearly two months.
Experienced Capital Transit
Co. employees. back from one Of
the longest transportation
strikes in history. got the big
feet rolling this morning with
a minimum of confusion.
The big question seemed to De
more how the public was re-
turning to the cars than how
the strikers were returning to
work. An early check indicated
a drop-off Of perhaps SO per
cent in riders.
4S-Hour Check Needed
Company officials noted this
was only a guess, that it would
require 48 hours for an accurate
count on patronage drop-ons
due to higher fares and changed
riding habits induced by car
pools, cabs and walking.
Fares went up 3 cents on
tokens, making them only q
penny cheaper than the 20-cent
cash fare. And the weekly per-
nit was up is cents. now costing
80 cents plus 10 cents per ride.
Normalcy in traffic had re-
turned to such an extent that
by midday the Commissioners
announced an end to the strike
emergency. This lifted the ban
on leave and days off for hard
working policemen, who have
put in thousands of hours OF
overtime.
Promptly at 4:09 am. the first
bus in So days left the central
garage. and 10 minutes later
a street-car pulled out Of the
Northeast car barn.
Day Called q Success
BY rush hour George T. Key
ser, superintendent Of division
Iof operations and training. called
1.-THE day q complete success. "A
good operating day, our usual
kind" was the way he put 1t.
MIR. Keyser, checking three OF
the 10 divisions, found operators
and drivers were back SO per
lcent-as good or better than an
average day. A few were i'll.
others had gone on vacations
and could not be reached.
The streetcars and buses were
maintaining good schedules. But
some runs were held up because
they weren't needed. Mr.. Key
ser said the problems were less
than on a usual day.
9TH operators all returned in
good spirits and a good frame of
mind" he said. They are the
best in the United States, and
proved it during the strike with
their orderly manner. They are
a credit to the company and the
union"
19 Bus Trips Cancelled
All streetcar runs were made
this morning, but 19 bus trips
were Cancelled. Dropping Of
these individual trips was called
mot unusual"
The company reported that Of
the 1909 operators in the sys-
tenn 1,S44 had been heard from.
The other l65 included those
who are i'll, or have gone out Of
the city. All operators expected
to appear for work on a normal
Monday were on hand.
Latest figures showed that 13
employees had resigned during
the strike and that % others
reported they were resigning
today. Several others also are
presumed to have obtained other
Jobs during the strike.
Only two reports of buses
breaking down were received in
the morning nours. This was
far better than expected in view
of the long storage of the
vehicles. There were a couple
of short stalls because of ac-
cidents on the line and one S a m.
power failure on Pennsylvar:1
avenue. all of which were quickly
remedied.
Moving ROutimely
Samuel L. Mahannes of 1918
Thirteenth street NV. super
visor of the Georgia avenue ter
minual said buses and street.
Continued on Page AS, Col. 1