Show Business Today Today Today- y Transit Lines Face Big War Pro Problem em emDY Dy JAMES IES MARLOW l and WILLIAM PINKERTON NEW V 3 YORK April 20 Wide f World The The war has dumped a prodigious human travel problem in hi the lap of the American transit I industry At the same time it has turned the ie clock back Listen Whereas 10 years ago street fears cars were run almost exclusively for the accommodation of ot the poor and nd middle middIe classes now the Wealthier wealthier classes are our patrons Cars can Ci be seen going to and groin places of entertainment filled With L ladies robed in silks velvets and nd e ermine ine adorned with costly jewels Newels Ja That statement was made not today today although although it could have I been due to tire rationing rationing but but by a delighted speaker 60 years ago at the organization meeting of the American Transit tion tion f Now 60 years later with billions bil bil- lions of extra rides forced upon the industry because of ot new new jobs opening up and diminishing use of the automobile Charles Gordon managing director of the A ATA T A Kays says Problem Reverses The whole trend of our problem problem lem has gone into reverse Instead of discussing ways and means of Developing new traffic we have to to consider how to handle the loads which are already taxing the Capacity capacity ca- ca of our facilities in many comm communities Current figures indicate that previous estimates tes of 1942 passenger passenger passenger pas pas- rides will be far exceeded and that the industry will be hard pressed for materials and equipment equipment equipment equip equip- ment needed to provide the service demanded The industry has traveled a long longway longway fray way from that meeting in 1882 when hen no mention was made of successful experiments the year before in harnessing electricity to street cars and the main problems were were the best way of feeding horses and how to keep conductors honest There were profound changes in Americas America's way of living in those 60 years too Had Monopoly Then Until the first World war the transit systems had a virtual monopoly monopoly monopoly mo- mo on travel in cities and towns After that war came the automobile Millions of Americans began moving mo to the outskirts of towns townsand townsand townsand and cities away from street car carlines carlines lines Jines and depended for travel on their automobiles A quick look at the transit Industry in industry industry in- in in 1882 and now will show how the travel problem has multiplied multiplied multiplied multi- multi plied I Sixty years ago the then industry had vehicles vehicles cles des horses and mules handled more than one billion rides yearly and had an annual fuel problem in obtaining 11 million bushels of grain and tons of hay needed by by the animals that supplied the power Last year the now five billion- billion dollar industry handled more than 14 billion passenger rides rides 16 16 billion billion billion bil- bil lion rides in 1926 was the peak peak peak- with and street cars subway and elevated cars regular and charter motor buses All that growth and those new billions of passenger rides were in addition to the approximately billion passenger miles which the Automobile Manufacturers' Manufacturers association association as- as estimated were accounted for by private automobile |