1949 Rapid Transit Metropolitan Areas Related Problems

8/20/2019 1949 Rapid Transit Metropolitan Areas Related Problems

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R a p i d T r a n s i t f o r M e t r o p o l i t a n J r e a s

A n d R e l a t e d P r o b l e m s


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ASSEMBLY,CALIFORNIALEGISLATUREApril 29, 1949

Honorable S am L. CollinsSpeak er of the Assembly

Stat e' Capitol , Sacramento, CaliforniaM R. SPEAK ER: Your Fact-Finding Committee on Highways, Streets

and Brid ges has the honor ' to submit herewith its second preliminary and supplementary report concerning problems pertaining to rapid transitfor metropolitan areas, with particular reference to the Los-.A!lgeles

area, although we are of the opinion that much of the data an crr erra

may be applicable in other areas.In order to make this study as objective as possible; in or der that theLegislature may make a wise d etermination on legislation befor e us or which may be brought before us, we have endeavored to pr esent allsid es of the problem together with the r e port of pr oblems collateralthereto.

It is the recommendation of the committee, in this instance, and with

particular ref erence to the Los Angeles Area, that enabling legislationbe enacted before the existent conditions become intolerable and the


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Page

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 3

INTRODUCTORY '7

SECTION IEnabling Legislation _ __ _____ __ _ _ _ ______ 9

The RT. A. G. ProposaL 10

SECTION IIMonorails in Freeways 1 '7

SECTION IIIMetropolitan Mass Transport System (The Babcock Plan) 21Design ofPlan 21

Type of System 21

Features Which Affect the Ind ividual Passenger 21

Passenger Carrying Capacity of the System 22

Description of the Station and Track Pattern 23

Map of System Proposed for Los Angeles 24


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Most of the material contained in this r e port has been pr e par ed or incourse of pre paration f or some time, but it has not been introd uced and the report filed because of the fact that enabling legislation introduced

at the 1949 Regular Session has not yet been set f or hearing.In fact, mem ber s of the Legislatur e are aware that the City Councilof Los Angeles only recently r ef used to ado pt a resolution endorsing

pro posed legislation sponsored by the "R apid Transit Action Grou p"of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. •

Weare well aware, who have been in touch with this problem, thatthis is a bitter blow to the proponents and since we have r ecommended that at least preliminar y engineer ing should be undertaken, it has beendecided to introd uce the material gather ed by this committee. There-


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ENABLING LEGISLATION PROVIDING FOR FORMATION

OF RAPID TRANSIT DISTRICTS

1. BACKGROUND

There was prepared at the time qf convening the 1948 Regular Ses-sion a pre print of a bill proposed to be introduced to provide enablinglegislation for the formation of metropolitan transportation districts.

It was generally conceded that such legislation would probably notqualify as properly coming before a budget session, and it was proposed that the Governor call a special session to run concurrently with the

regular session.Regardless of any obligation which the Governor may have owed

the Rapid Transit Action Group, sub-committee of the MetropolitanTraffic and Transit Committee of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce,for their support of his" Highway Program" legislation at the 1947Session, the Governor side-stepped the issue and said that if a sufficientnumber of the" Los Angeles Delegation" petitioned him in favor of the

legislation he would issue such a "Call for a Special Session."Those favorably disposed did not number a majority of the delega


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plan, that a proper engineering study authorize.d as one of the prelimin-ary steps to formation of a district must determme the proper p'la:n.

This is too vague to satisfy many persons and con:mu~ltIe~ and,since there must be at least some basis for estimate and vlsuahzatlOn wesubmit herewith not only a plan, but probably "the plan" as first presented, and probably lingering as an afterglow at least in the mindsof Neil Petree and his associates.

Let the reader draw his own conclusions-at least the material sub-

mitted is p~rtinent, valid to considerable degree and a clear s~atementof the problem and a proposed solution and, perhaps, of suffiClent sub-stance to provide a point on which to build legislation of more than aca-

demic interest.1. THE R. T. A. G. P R OP OS A L

It is hard to credit the assertion that the Rapid Transit ActionGroup of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce had no specifi.c plan inmind when pressuring the Governor and the Los Angeles ContI~gent of the State Legislature to adopt enabling legislation for the creatlOn of aMetropolitan Transportation District. Especially is this true whenreviewing the printed brochure "Rail Rapid Transit ~ow!': release~ bythe above organization in February 1948 and filed wIth thIS commIttee by Neil Petree at the San Fernand'o hearings. We refer specifically to

pages 2 and 3, where it is set forth-THE PROPOSEDNEW SYSTEM

Economy-The most economical construction for a rail rapid transit system inthe metropolitan area is in the center strip of the planned freeways. None of the

highway-user taxes will be used to pay for any of the cost of the system. . Design-Each dual-purpose freeway with facilities for autos and rails Will be

desio-ned to specifications approved by the State Division of Highways. All safetyfeat~res in the most modern freeway will be incorporated into these highways. Thewider center strip for rail operation will, in fact, be an added safety feature and the

rails will not interfere in any way with automobile traffic. Routes-Rail lines are recommended where ultimate patronage will justify the

cost of installation. This system can be expanded, if necessary. Bus lines will operateon the outer reaches of freeways, connecting to the terminals of the rail lines as finally

determined.Bus lines may operate from intervening areas and supplement rail service to

major centers. They may also operate on other radial and crosstown freeways wher.ethey can provide service more effectively or where patronage does not warrant raIl

service.Rail operation is recommended on the following freeways:

1. Santa Monica Parkway.2. Olympic Parkway-While this operation is shown as :' rail line, f~ture co~-

ditions will determine whether it should be developed as a raIl or bus rapId tranSit

route.3. Inglewood Parkway.4. Harbor Parkway.5. Ramona Parkway.6. East By-Pass. .7. In portions of the Hollywood Parkway as follows:The ideal route to Hollywood and to the San Fernando Valley is from the Hill

Street Terminal in a subway to a point about one thousand feet west of GlendaleBoulevard on the Hollywood Parkway, thence along the Parkway to about Harold Way, thence off the Parkway in private right of way and cut-and-cover subway alongSelma Str eet to the site of the proposed Crenshaw Parkway, thence north to Cahuenga

Pass in private right of way, or in the Crenshaw Parkway, if available.If present construction precludes use of the Hollywood Parkway east of Vermont

Avenue, the rail lines should run in a subway from the Hill Street Terminal to theintersection of the Santa Monica and Hollywood Parkways, unless they can be placed

in the Santa Monica Parkway without delaying completion of the r ailroute.

Alternate routes are either more expensive, offer less service to the public, or would delay rail construction.

The following routes will be operated in private right of way:1. To Long Beach and San Pedro. This route will initially connect with the

East By-Pass and may ultimately connect with the Harbor Parkway at ImperialBoule~ard.

2. To Bellflower, via the Santa Ana line connecting into the East By-Pass.3. To Pasadena and Monrovia. This route will connect to the East By-Pass and

may ultimately run into the Hill Street Subway.4. To Burbank and Glendale, operating into the Hill Street Subway.

The routes operated in private right of way will be immeasurably improved bygrade separations and train-controlled traffic signals.

DowntownLosAngeles-'With the above facilities in the freeways and in privateright of way it will be necessary to provide adequate terminal and distribution facili-ties in the downto\Vn area. The minimum should be substantially as recommended in1945 by Charles E. DeLeuw, employed as a consultant by the City of Los Angeles tostudy the transportation requirements of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area. Thisincludes:

1. A rail line in the East By-Pass to the Sixth and Main Streets Terminal fromAliso Street on the north to Washington Boulevard on the south.

2. A subway in Broadway from the vicinity of Ord Street to the vicinity of 14th Street with connections into East First Street, into Main Street via BroadwayPlace to the Harbor and Inglewood Parkways and possibly to the Olympic Parkway.

3. Expansion of the Hill Street Subway Terminal to provide additional capacity.4. Pedestrian subways connecting the Broadway Subway to Hill and Spring

Streets at each station.Increased flexibility of operation and improved distribution of passengers would

result from an additional subway under Hill Street which would have connections to

the Hill Street Terminal and might be connected to eitheI:, or possibly both, the free-ways at the southerly side of the business district and the rapid transit routes to thenorth and east.

The estimated cost of such facilities has been included in the amounts whichit is believed should be covered by over-all financing powers of the district. Theyshould be included in thorough studies to be made by independent engineers before thefinal construction plan is determined upon.

Either a change of policy or a change of strategy is to be noted inthe weekly publication of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce-"Southern California Business. "

In the issue of December 8, 1948, we read:MEETING 'YILL HEAU LEGISLATIVE PLAN TOFORM RAPID TRANSIT DISTRICT

A digest of enabling legislation for formation of a Metropolitan Rapid TransitDistrict will be presented December 15th before members and guests of the MetropolitanTraffic and Transit Committee, according to Chairman Neil Petree.

The group, at a dinner meeting in the Biltmore Hotel Music Room, will heal' thelegislation as revised and developed by the committee's legal and finance sub-committees,

Petree said.State legislators from the Los Angeles area, the county board of supervisors, and

the city council have been invited to attend the meeting.In developing the legislation it is recognized that a comprehensive transportation

system is needed for the entire community, not just for one city or section, Petree said.He emphasized the need for enabling legislation to form a transit district as the

first step toward obtaining any rail, rapid transportation.

"The proposed legislation is planned only to permit establishment of a transitdistrict. It does not contemplate any particular plan-the district's directors will beempowered to employ engineers for that purpose," the committee chairman pointed out.

"We lire anxious that the district be formed so that studies necessary to recom-mend a trat;tsit system can be made," he said.


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The follow-up is to be found in the issue bearing the date line of

a week later, as follows:

TR ANSIT ACT PROPOSALUP FOR STUDY

A versi on o f a Rapid Tr ansit Distr ict Act, pr epar ed by the legal and f inance"subcommittees of the Metropolitan Tr afllc and Transit Committee, will be of fer ed for

committee approval tonight at the Biltmor e Hotel, accor ding to Chairman Neil Petr ee."W"e hope it is clear ly understood ," Petr e e said , "that this is simply a proposal

for an enactment by the State Legisla tu re t o place a law on the books to permit

formation of a r apid tr ansit d istr ict which would be empower ed -after agr eementof the voter s-to br ing about installation of mass r apid trans por tation f acilities."This pr eliminary d r aft, pr e pared by legal and f inance groups under the chair-

manship of James L. Bee be, repr esen ts t he combined thinking of the best br ains wecould find. It was d rawn after consultation with our state legislators, city attorneys,an d o ther officials of cities in Los Angeles County t o ma ke sur e th at all pr evious

causes of disagr eement would be ironed o ut."It is possible tha t befor e this suggestion is off er ed to the TJegislatur e it will

have been amended many times. This committee is pr e pared to consi der f ur ther sug-

gestions brought to its attention by any grou p in the count~'-or elsewhere, for that

matter. •"I cannot em phasiz e t oo strongly that we consider this proposal to be flexible.

W'e are particular ly anxious that it he accepta ble to every community inter est ed i n

obtaining mass r a pid trans portation facilities." If that is not the case now, we want to hear about it so w e c an mak e t he

necessary amend ments an d, f inally, go befor e the Legislature with a measure which

the Los Angeles County d elegation can su p port unanimously," Pe r ee said.

Again we r efer to the Brochure "Rail Rapid Transit Now!" par -

ticular ly pages 12 and 13, wher e it states:'l.'IlIS Is ACCO~IPLISHEDSo FAR

Need --The need for r ail r a pid tr ansit has been clearly d emonstrated to thesatisf ac ti on o f a ll who have stud ied it throughout the year s. The latest statement isthat o f th e C alif ornia State Public Utilities Commissiou in a r e port dated June 16,1947. The r epor t said, in part:

"The m ost imporUl1lt conclusion one can d r aw is that , u nless provision is mad efor rail r a pid transit lines i n these freeways, wher e they are need ed today, Los Angeles

will , i n all pro bability never have a r a pid transit system."It is estima te d t ha t r ail rapid transit in a fr eeway can be pr ovided at a pprox-

imately 15 percent to 20 per cen t ad ditional to the cost of the fr eewa~', alone, whilese parate rapid transit system, whether on priva te r ight-of -way, elevated structure,

o r i n a su bway under city str eets, would cost sev~r al times this amount."In other words, Los Angeles can today o btain a r a pid tr ansit system for a

fr actional par t of what oue will cost in the futur e. Any d elay or pt'ocrastination willbe fatal and plans must be mad e now to build the rapid tmnsit syst em simultaneously

with the fl-eeway system."

SlIst em-A rail r a pid tr ansit system is r ecommend ed and agr eed to by theR a pid Transit Action Group. This system includ es r ail lines in the Santa Monica,Olympic, Inglewood a nd Har bo r and Po mo na Par kways, an d t he E ast By-Pass,although it was agreed that f uture 'conditions would d etermine whether the Olym pic

line would be operated as a rail or bus r a pid tr ansit route. It includ es r ail o perationin portions of the Hollywood Parkwa.y for an id eal r out e t o Hollywood and the SanFernando Valley. It also includ es operation on existing pr iv at e r ight-of -way" from

Glendale, Burbank, Long Beach, Sau Pedro, Bellf lower, Baldwin Par k , P asadenaa nd Monrovia. All of these lines would lead into a downtown d istr ibution system.

It is recommend ed that f inancing be planned so a s t o pr ovid e suff icient ca pital

for the constr ucti on of the entir e system.This recommendation assumes the operation of hus routes on radial and cr oss-

town fr eeways serving ar eas between the r ail line s. I t also assumes operation of busesconnecting to the terminals of r ail lines on some f r eeways, the oper ation of buses on

the same freeways with r ail o peration, wher e desir able, and the development of surf ace

feed er services to the r ail r apid transit oper ation.

Bene fits-The henef its to the people of the community will be gener al-to thosewho will be able to walk to stations on the r ail lines, to those who will rid e to ther ail lines by surface transi t vehicle or hy automobile, to those who will continue touse surface tr ans por tation, and to those who will continue to use their cars.

Riding time will be mater ially cut. The cost will be far less t han the cost of driving and park ing a car. Rail r apid tr ansit is the one big improvement that can bemad e that will attract thousand s of automobile rid er s to mass trans por tation. This will

reduce congestion and will ena ble thousand s to r each their destinations q uickly, com-forta bly and economically.

Costs-T he investment cost of the entire system is estimated at $310,000,000.This includ es the cost of additional right of way, additional construction cost in f r ee-wa~'s, im provements to private right of way, cost of subways, tr ack an d r oadway,stations, and terminals and signal eq ui pment. Annual costs will be about $51,400,000.

Revemtes-T he annual operating revenues ar e based on an estimated f ar e of 2~ c ents a mile, collected by zones. The boundaries of the zones beyond the inner zonear e a bout four miles apart. These fares would meet the estimated oper ating costs.

Financing- A plan for necessary legislation has been proposed . All the additionalcosts of provid ing r ail rapid t ransit in freeways would be borne by other than highway-user taxes . A d istrict, called the Metr opolitan Rapid Transit District, should be formed to carr y out the r a pid tr ansi t n eed s of the community.

BUT THIS IsYET TOBE DO NE

Legislative Action- It is im per ative that legislation he prepared for anti passed by the 1948 State Legislatur e that will permit the formation of a financin" district f or r ail rapid tr ansit service in the L os Angeles metr o poli ta n ar ea. This legi~lation must be passed this year to per mit the district to acquir e r igh t o f wa y within the fr eewayswher e constr uction is llOWimminent. This is par ticular ly tr ue of the Hollywood Park-wa~:- Thr ough ~he commenda ble cooperation of the State Division of Highways, t he

lettmg of cer tam k ey contracts has been d elayed to per mit rapid tr ansit installation.This delay cannot extend beyond May, 1949. This mak es it im perative that the district

be f or med and bond s sold prior to tha t t ime so that f unds can be available for the pur chase of the r ight of way and the ad d itional construction costs.

r 1d diti~nal Stud ies-This agreement on routes, costs, r evenues and financing bythe RTAG IS the result of many months' wor k and d etailed study. It is, however, onlythe fir st step in obtainin g r ai l r a pid t ra nsit. 'l.'his work should be checked by other com petent engineer ing authorities before bonds are issued hy a d istr ict.

Distdct Ot ' uani zation-As soon as the Legislatur e author izes its organization aMetr o politan Rapid Transit District sho ul d be formed . Further stud ies sho ul d becarried o n at the negotiating stage to determine e xa ctly how this add itional ri~ht of way and the d istr i bution system her e proposed can be oper ated . •.

All of these negotiations and f urther wo rk should be the r esponsibility of thedistrict. The people of the community should d emand that this distr ict be formed assoon as J?os~i ble and sl~ould agree to .the ad equate f inancing and the conf erring of power son. the d ?strlCt s.othatlt can treat wlth operating companies that could give an ad equater all ra pid translt ser VlCe to the community.

. Sale of Bond s- As soon as fir m agreements ar e r eached with oper ating com- pames, after costs, r outes and r evenues ar e further stud ied and affirmed b on d s could ?e issued . The d istrict then can commence the acq uisitio n o f r ight of W~y, and enter IIIto the necessa ry contr acts for the build ing of the system.

'l' hen We C em Have Rail Rapid 7 ' mnsit Now

Even questions of the saving of time in traveling to Los Angeles,far es, patr onage and revenues as well as the cost of the proposed systemhave been work ed out. 'fhis is clear from a r eading of pages 8-9-10 and 11of this brochure.

On page 8 we find:HERE ARE THE TIME SAVI NGS

The se schedules are based on peak running times from the Los An"eles down-~own area. for purposes of comparison. Time savings between intermediate" points ar eIII pr oportlOn.


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Present

rail

Hollywood {lOCal ---------------------- 40express 36

N. Hollywood {loCaL___ ______ __ ___ _ _ _ _ 66express___ _ ___ _ __ __ ___ __ 59

Van Nuys {locaL___ _ __ _ _ _ _ _______ ____ 91express______ __ __ _ __ _ _ _ ____ 88

Beverly Hills 50Santa ~10nica 70

Culver City 43Venice 58

Manch~ster and Market (Inglewood)____ 57Imperial and ]'igueroa _ Watts 24San Pedro 67

Long Beach 63

Bellflower 54Baldwin Park 67Oneonta Junction ::13Pasadena 51Monrovia 58

Glendale 32

Burbank 56

Present

bus

Proposed

rail

15

10

30

19

45

341730

182819

17

14

43403033

15

22362236

Rail

savings

2526

36

40

46

544240

2530

3833

10

2423243418

29

221020

On page 9 we find :HER E'S VVHATTHE SYSTEM W'ILL COST

The following costs were deterimned after detailed study of the R'l'AG and itsengineer s. The cost br eakdown is based on right of way; construction other than track,includ ing subways and stations; and track, roadway and signals. It is difficult -toallocate costs of any single part of the whole system, since each portion of the systemdepends on the other par ts of the system for its efficiency and benefit to the community.These estimates are based on present-day costs, with the usual allowance for engineer-ing. Cost of 580 two-car articulated units has not been included since the MetropolitanRapid Tr ansit District need not finance this equipment, although the charges for financ-ing the equipment ar e included on page 10-The Balance Sheet. The number of carswas based on a seat per passenger during the peak hours of travel.

It will possibly be necessary to make adjustments in existing operators to cover capital losses caused by installation of rail rapid transit service. This adjustment is

shown as a separate item.R ight of 'vay _

Construction, other than track , including stations _ Track, roadway and signals _

Capital adjustment _

$49,379,000222,414,000

27,892,00010,000,000

PATRONAGE AND R EVE NUES

Figures for patronage are based on ultimate d esirable population in the metropolitan ar ea as shown by the latest studies of the County Regional Planning Com-mission. These studies showed , not only the amount of population, but its ultimatedistribution. The estimated patronage was the basis for the ultimate rail r apid transitsystem, as r ecommend ed .

Rail lines were laid out on a map in the various freeways proposed to be built in

the ar ea, an d i n p rivate right of way. Agreement was r eached as t o th e a mo un t o f patronage each line would ser ve. '.rhis agr eement was baf'ed on experience, past trafficcheck s and f aster servi ce on the basis of a seat per passenger . ]'inal decision as to the

lines to be recommend ed was based on whether the patronage thus determined would justify the installation of rails.

It was d etermined t hat a f ar e eq uivalent to a bout 2~ cents a mile was reasona ble

and would meet the f inancial r equirements of the system. This was a pplied as a 15-centfar e in the inner zone with f r ee transfers, and with a 10-cent additional f ar e for each

ad ditional zone of a bout f our miles.

The estimated patronage and revenues for each line are shown in the table below.

Lines with long portions of identiCal t r ack are grouped . Ann1ud

pah'onage

36,700,00026,100,000

23,000,00050,100,000

25,800,00017,100,000

23,800,00017,900,000

R01tte

Hollywood-San Fernando Valley _ Santa ~10nica _

Olympic _

Harbor-Inglewood _

Long Beach-San Pedro-Santa Ana _ Ramona _

.Pasadena-Monrovia _ Glendale-Burbank . _

Annual

reven1t e

$11,310,0007,200,000

4,850,00010,620,000

8,380,0005,140,000

7,400,0004,250,000

THE BALANCE SHEET

The annual oper ating statement ( at the right) shows that the r ail r a pid tr ansitsystem as planned, and based on the ultimate patronage, would be economically

feasible. 'l'he annual r evenues have been brok en do wn i u the section. Patronage and Revenues.

This Is What Comes In:Gross passenger revenue $59,150,000

Less revenue collected for other operators supplyingconnecting service 7,700,000

This Is What Goes Out :

Track maintenance . _ Equipment'maintenance _ Power _

Traffic _

Transportation _

Administra tion and insurance _ Depreciation and amortiza tion _ Taxes . _

Operating r ents (net) _ Interest _

$2,159,0002,766,000

1,750,000191,000

8,430,0005,232,000

11,092,000

12,180,000,2,000,000

5,650,000

On page 11 are recommendations for:

THE FINA NCING

R ecommend ations f or financing a pr o posed rail rapid transit system wer e mad e bya f inance committee composed of City, County and State repr esentatives, private

investment men, and lawyers. These recommend ations ar e the bases for the dr aftingof legislation.

The Money-Fund s for a r ail r a pid transit line must corne f rom some source

other than highway-user taxes, even though the lines ar e placed within the roadwaysof a freeway. F or a ventur e of this magnitud e, bonds must be issued. The issuingauthority should be a metropolitan r api d t ransit d istrict patter ned somewhat af ter theMetropolitan Water District.

Or ganizat ion-The first step in organizing a distr ict would be a petition of a

small number o f si gners or it could be initiated by the board of su per visor s. Notices

should be posted and full hearings given. Appr oval would be by a ma jor ity of thevotes cast, plus a majority of the units in the pro posed district, counting each cit y a s a

unit, and the unincorporated territor y as a nnit. The district wou ld be ad minister ed by an a ppointed board of dir ector s.


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Powers-The district would be empowered to acquire property by lease, pur-chase or condemnation; to construct improvements; and to levy a limited tax for administrative expense, the maximum not to exceed 5 cents on each $100 of assessed value. It would have the power to take over rights of way purchased by the city, county

or State and pay for such rights of way.

Taxes-It is believed that the district should have the power to recommend a tax levy only to pay an~· portion of principal or interest which is not paid fromrevenue. Taxes could, therefore, not be levied for the purpose of making up anyoperating deficits of the companies which would operate the lines. Taxes would belevied similar to a school district. The budget would be set by the board of directors.

The amount of any levy would be collected by the county authorities and deposited in

the county treasury.

Indebtedness-The district should have the power to issue bonds and incur indebtedness only upon approval by a vote of the people.

Leases-These should run a sufficient time for the operating company to amortizeits rolling stock but the term should be as short as is consistent with that purpose.

The leases must contain provisions which would insure rapid transit. The board of directors should have the power to approve operating regulations or schedules and to approve all equipment used by the operating company or companies in order to prevent the use of obsolete equipment or the purchase of equipment of a type which

will not carry out actual, speedy and safe transit.The leases should be drawn on such a basis that the principal and interest of the

bonds issued by the district will be paid from revenues.

SECTION II

MONORAILS IN FREEWAYS

Perhaps the most concise description of the Suspended Monorailas a possible solution to mass transportation problems is to be gained

from the article submitted to the chairman by I..t. Col. George D. Roberts.The item appearing at pages 12 and 13 in the December, 1948 issue of the California Monthly (journal of the University of California AlumniAssociation) is quoted below.

2---z..

SU SP E ND E D MO N O R A i l

A Pract ical Solut ion to the Big City 's Transi t Prob lem

By GEORGE D. ROBERTS '17

During and since the war , many American metropolitan communi-ties have been strangled with traffic almost to the point of the passenger'sinability to travel to and from downtown areas and suburbs.

In SOmecities there is a near breakdown of mass transportationfacilities and in others the over-use of the private automobile hasresulted in stagnant street congestion, critical parking problems and arising accident rate.

In California, the East Bay 'region, the San Mateo Peninsula and the San Fernando Valley have been particularly aggressive in attempt-ing to solve their problems. The City of Oakland and its civic groupshave made diligent progress in determining the best methods of transportation for particular conditions. The combination of overhead, sur-face and subway is probably the formula suitable to the general situa-

( 17 )


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tion-the subway confined to the limits of a city's downtown area for passenger dispersal, the overhead for the long interurban hauls and buses on the surface as cross-town feeder lines.'

Pacific Monorail System, Inc., was organized in 1946. to ex~lore ~he big-city transportation problem and to prepare the basIc engmeermgdesio-n for an overhead monorail system, consisting of lightweight cars,rese~lblinO" an airplane fuselage, suspended from a single rail withindividual electric drives from a power line. This engineering work has

now been completed. The consultant in charge is Allen E. Puckett(Harvard '40), of the California Institute of Technology, and the reportwas prepared by J. M. Montgomery & Co. of Los Angeles.

, Mr. Puckett visited Germany last year and inspected the Wupper

Valley line. He reported:On my visit to that area in the fall of 1947, I was greatly impressed by the

almost complete bomb destruction of most of the build ings and industrial establish-ments in that distr ict. It was, therefore, a considerable surprise to come upon theWuppertal monorail line in full operation, with all essential eq uipment repaired, inthe midst of ruined buildings and bom bed streets. Cars operated on a frequent scheduleand were filled nearly to capacity.

After talking to the engineers in charge of the installation, I l ea rn ed t ha t t hemonorail was still an essential link in t he transportation system for the Wupper 'Valley, and was, therefore, one of the first things in the ar ea. to ~e c~mpletelyrepaired . From the standpoint of its service to the local populatlOn, It stIll seemsto be dependable, safe, and very efficient.

It certainly performs admirably its f unction of providing rapid transportation,

separated from other tr affic, in a region which is otberwise extremely, crowded, co:,-nected by old, winding streets, and generally unsuitable for other means of rapId

transit.

Valley line, was that ever since 1909 Germany has been either gettingready for war or recovering from the effects of war-with steel alwayscrItically short for 'civilian needs.

Why haven't suspended systems come int.o popular use outside of Germany? .The answer to this is that traffic conditions in and around our

big cities did not assume the desperate proportions presently prevailinguntil the recent war years, and we managed to get along somehow withthe established facilities of street cars, buses and interurban trains. The

hazard of grade crossings has become a major factor only in the last fiveyears. The concentration of population around many of our big citiesdeveloped during the war, forcing residential building miles distant fromworking centers and making transit speed and comfort a "must" asnever before.

In li'ebruary of this year, the Rapid Transit Action Group of LosAngeles presented publicly their plan for surface lines on the freewaysand at the same time proposed a financial plan based on a revenue bond issue of $310,000,000, contingent on the creation of a metropolitantransit district. When this plan for such a district was presented atSacramento to the caucus of Southern California assemblymen, their support was not obtained. The legislators did not like the transportation

plan for which the district was to be created and, as a result, there wasno enabling legislation at that time.

Now, the various needy sections of the state, the East Bay, thePeninsula and the Los Angeles area are coordinating their plans to seek from the Legislature at its regular session in January a uniform enablingact creating the respective transportation districts. The plan now is not to write into the legislation any specific transportation method but togrant to the districts broad general powers, leaving to districts and their engineers the study and decision as to the sole or combined use of over-head, surface and subway facilities.

Every modern technique applicable to the monorail project thatwas developed in the seven years of war preparation and productionshould be drafted into the structural and operating' elements of theengineering design to prove monorail's desirability and practicabilityto civic groups, the engineers of city, county and state; councilmen, super-visors and legislators, many of whom stand first for the protection of all

established forms of transportation; and the intelligent, unprejudiced engineers who can only be impressed by design and plan, backed byengineering which follows to the letter all best modern practices.

In other words, the story, of monorail must prove a thoroughlymodernized design, must utilize all engineering and material develop-ments which bring beauty, strength, durability, safety and speed intothe fina1 result. There must be no blanks where essential data will beglaringly lacking.

Switching, braking, stopping, starting, propulsion and providingfor all emergency incidents, etc., are illustrative of the "running" ele-ments that must be adequately supported by engineering.

The German system, therefore, is the parent of monorail. Its record over the past 40 years surpasses all other transportation facilities; lowestconstruction cost, lowest operating charges, freedom from major replace-ments, accident- proof, speed, comfort and dependability.

Our engineering data proves that the monorail structure, switchingdevices, stations, shops and equipment can be produced for less thanone-tenth of subway cost per mile and for less than one-half of surfacelines cost. Rights-of-way present no problem because the upright stand -ards to which the rails are attached demand ground space of only sixto eight feet in width. -

The freeway center strip as designed is adeq uate without the pur-chase of property for additional width which surface lines would require.The fast operation from terminus to terminus would necessitate fewer cars and substantially less labor than surface lines'. Grade crossings withthe high accident rate and heavy insurance reserves would be a problemof the past. Stops for pick-up and dispersal should be fourto five milesapart, and the average speed including stops can be safely achieved at60 miles per hour. ' ' ,

Overhead transportation in cars suspended from a rigid single railhas been proposed time and again during the past ,25years, but usually

by visionaries unsilpported by scientific research, or capital. As a resultso-called "monor ,ail" has beell branded by some people as fantastic and impractical. ' ,

Our studies during the past two years have convinced us that the:real reason why suspended transportatioi:l systems' had not been builtgenerally in Germany, despite the successful operation of the Wupper


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All of this our engineering cover s.'l'he U. S. Department of Commerce r e ported in a letter dated April

2, 1947: "The German Monor ail system is mechanically satisfactory asa public utility in r espect to service, tariffs and profits. For service and income, the line hold s the best record of any transportation system inexistence. "

In f airness .to all parties who appear ed befor e this committee withconstructive suggestions this r e port should include a description of the

"Ba bcock Plan". We submit herewith a presentation filed with thechairman by Henr y A. Babcock .

SECTION III

METROPOLITAN MASS TRANSPORT SYSTEM

Proposed for the Los Angeles Area

Designed by Henry A. Babcock, Consulting Engineer

and Sponsored by George D. Rowan

DESIGN OF PLAN

The pro posed Metr opolitan Mass Trans port System for the LosAngeles ar ea is d esigned to eliminate t he def iciencies l j,nd inad equaciesof existing ty pes of mass tr ansportation.

The new system has been d esigned to:1. Cover the more d ensely populated areas in such a way that all

of the peo ple can mak e use of the f acilities.2. Pr ovid e tr avel fr om any point to any point with especial emphasis

on cross town travel. (The d emand for tr avel other than into and outof the centr al business district constitutes eighty percent (80%) of thetotal d emand.)

3. Have sufficient passenger -carrying ca pacity to meet not only pr esent but future r eq uirements.

4. Permit futur e extensions into new areas without slowing up or

altering the service originally pr ovid ed .5. Carr y passengers faster , more conveniently, mor e comforta bly

and with gr eater safety than is possible with the private automobile.6. Be self-supporting and self -liquid ating. .7. Enhance pr oper ty values generally, without favoring any par-

ticular areas.TYPE OF SYSTEM

The new system, d esigned to meet the a bove stated objectives com- prises two parts: . ,

1 . A network of single-tr ack, under gr ound tubes, carrying high-speed, semiautomatic electric trains, especially d esigned, ser ving thecentral, more densely po pulated , 175-squaremile area which, at the

present time, has a po pulation. of 2,000,000.2. A system of surf ace feeder -lines, car r ying motor buses, inter-

urban cars, tr olley coaches and str eetcar s, ser ving the outer, less d ensely populated areas and . transferring passengers to the und er ground tubesystem.

FEATURES OF THE UNDERGROUND SYSTEM WHICH AFFECT

THE INDIVIDUAL PASSENGER

1. Stations ar e located in staggered d iamond pattern in such away that the maximum walking distance is one-half mile (four long

blocks). The average walking distance is considerably less.2. Entr ances to tu be stations are reached from the sid ewalk without

crossing str eet traffic.3. Far es are inserted in coin-oper ated turnstiles, at str eet level.

(A 10-cent universal, or f lat, fare is contem plated .)4. Station platforms ar e 12 feet below the sid ewalk and ar e flush

with the car floor .


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5. Three wid e, automatic, saf ety door s ar e provided on each sideof the car.

6. Each car is equipped with sixty (60) comfortable seats.7. Warning is automatically given bef or e star ting for the benefit

of passengers not yet seated.8. Acceleration and d eceleration are at pr ed etermined, comfortable

rates and are automatically contr olled .9. All transfers are synchr onized . At each tr ansfer station, trains

arrive at approximately the same time. 'l'ransf er s are made by walking

across a 12-foot platform dir ectly into a waiting train. Trains at atr ansfer station are connected by an electric cir cuit which causes them tod e part simultaneously.

10. Minimum frequency of synchronized service, throughout thesystem, is one train every f ive and one-thir d (5113) minutes. During peak rush hours, the frequency can be incr eased to one t r ain every forty(40) seconds.

11. The average speed of the trains, which is the same throughout thesystem, is forty-five (45) miles per hour, inclusive of stops for loading,unloading and transferring. Any station can be r eached from the CentralBusiness District in less than twenty-five (25) minutes. Typical tripsr ange from five and one-third (51ja) minutes to twenty(20) minutes.

12. Maps of the metropolitan ar ea ar e provided at each stationtogether with a device which issues, to a passenger desiring it, a printed

slip of paper with simple dir ections as to how to make the particular trip he is contemplating.13. Each car is provid ed with a route map and a moving light

indicator , in full view of the passenger s, to indicate the locations of thetr ain at any moment.

14. There is no skip-stop, local or express service, and, therefore, nowaiting on the platform f or a particular train. Each train, as it stopsat the platform, loads all passengers accumulated since the previoustrain left.

D ESCR IPT ION O F T H E ST AT IO N AN D T R AC K PAT T ER N

The stations on the underground tube system ar e arr anged in a stag-ger ed diamond pattern in such a way that ther e is no double coverageand the minimum number of required stations for 100 per cent 'cover ageis provided. These stations are connected by one-way, single tr acks, inthe form of "radial ", "crosstown ", and "cir cular transfer shuttle"loops. For anyone loop, the stops are one-mile apart and yet the maxi-mum walking distance to any station is one-half mile. This station and

track pattern is shown on the accompanying ma p.In the central business district ther e ar e 15 stations. The 12 radial

loops enter this district and each of them stops at four of the stations.The track and route pattern is such that a passenger can mak e a syn-chronized , across-the- platform transfer from any line to any other line;can enter via any line and get off at any station; and can get on at anystation and d e part via any line. This central business distr ict station and track pattern is shown on the accompanying map. A dr awing showingthe four-track, three- platform stations used in the central businessdistrict is also attached hereto. *

T Y PE O F C O NST RU C TIO N U SED IN T H E U N D ER G RO U ND SY STEM

With the exce ption of the central business district, the und erground system is mad e up of square, reinforced concrete tubes, 12 f eet x 12 feet

insid e dimensions, located immediately und er the str eet pavement. Thecircular tr ansf er shuttles are of the same construction but are tunneled und er private property at the corners.

The tubes are built in two parts. The invert sla b is placed at the bottom of an open ditch. This slab carries the ties and r ails and supportsthe entire weight of the trains. The cover is a pr ecast r einfor ced concretehorseshoe section, 6 feet 6 inches long, and weighing 33,000 pound s whichis placed over the slab and then grouted and water proofed . These sectionsoverlap to form a tight joint. The construction is completed by back-filling and then re paving the street. The tube is d esigned to withstand earthquakes.

The central business district construction is of conventional design.At no point, does it encroach upon private property.

The stations ar e reinforced concr ete platforms, 12 feet wid e so

designed that each can ultimately be extend ed to a length of 600 f e~t toaccommodate a lO-car train. All tra.nsfer-station platf or ms ar e located between the tr acks.

Ther e ar e no switches or gra.de crossings in the system exce pt thoseused to get trains onto the loops from the stor age yar d s and shops. Allcrossings are grade separated.

Power distribution is high voltage, alternating current to trans-former s and r ectifiers located throughout the system. Direct' cur r ent issupplied to car motors by a third rail.

An automatic, moving-block system is provid ed to prevent r ear -end collisions.

The "bottleneck " of mass trans portation systems is in the central business district. Only 20 per cent (approximately) of the total travelin a metropolitan ar ea is into and out of the centr al business district but, because this travel cornes from all dir ections, it is necessary to move

it at high speed to avoid congestion with its attendant" backing up"and d elay of the other travel.

In the proposed Metropolitan Mass Tr ans port System, there are12 r adial loops, all of which enter and leave the centr al business district.The tr ains on each of these loops traverse the central business districtin 51jaminutes. With 10-car tr ains at 40 seconds headways, the systemis capable of handling 648,000 seated passenger per hour. The presentdemand is approximately 210,000 per hour . With the new system, anultimate metropolitan population of 10 to 12 million can be served.

The passenger -carrying capacity of the loops outside of the central business district is sufficient to meet any foreseeable need.


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At the present time, in the streets under which it is proposed toconstruct the mass transport tubes, there are sewers, storm drains, water pipes, gas pipes, electric cables, etc. In order to construct the tubes itwill be necessary to relocate these. The new water and gas pipes and theelectric cables can be incorporated in the tube itself. In many instances,sewers can be left in place by locating the mass transport tube to one side,

but t~e laterals will have. to be redesigned and rebuilt. Except in thecentral business district and at some outside corners, the storm drainswill not have to be relocated. An estimate of the cost of relocation of theunder-street utilities has been included in the total cost estimate. It isnot intended to require the privately-owned public utility companies torelocate their lines at their own expense.

'On the accompanying map is shown a complete network of under-ground tubes designed to meet the current needs of the metropolitan area.However, it is not necessary to construct this entire system before anyof it can be put into operation. There are two types of construction pro-grams which will permit the system to be built section-by-section and allow the part constructed to be put into operation as soon as it is con-

structed . One of these programs would entail the construction of all or part of the central business district system and the loops adjacent to this


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rail and surface systems. It is estimated that the new system (if it wer eall in o per aiton) would attract at least five hundr ed million riders per year who now use private automobiles. On this basis, the immediate potential of the new system would be approximately one billion riders per year . The r evenue estimates given herein are based , however , on900,000,000 rid ers per year.

With a 10-cent flat far e, this patronage would produce $90,000,000 per year gross r evenue.

The operating expenses of the new system ar e relatively low, on a per centage basis. The low oper ating ratio is the r esult of the high averagespeed which reduces the labor cost per passenger-mile; the power savingwhich r esults from the use of r egenerative braking in conjunction withsynchronized -stagger ed train oper ation; the reduction in taxes, becausethe system is publicly owned; the red uction in administrative and oper-ating ex pense by the elimination of zone fares, paper transfers, weekly passes, d ispatcher s, conductor s, etc.; and the r eduction in accidentclaims br ought a bout by off -surface safety operation.

It is estimated that the total o perating ex pense, inclusive of main-tenance and r eplacement of cars, will be a p pr oximately 50 per centof the gross r evenue, or $45,000,000 per year.

The estimated r equired investment for the entir e underground sys-tem, including cost of new car s, alteration of existing systems, inter estduring constr uction, bond discount, and relocation of und er -str eet utili-

ties, is $1,000,000,000.With an average annual interest charge of 3 percent and a 60 year


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D A T A A N D T R EN D S A P P L YIN G T O T H E

TRAFFIC INDUSTRY

PACIFIC ELECTRIC RAILWAY COMPANY

IJOSANGELES 14, CALIFORNIA,March 3,1949 Before The

PUBLIC UTILITIES COJlUnSSIONOFTHE S'fA'fE OF CALIFORNIA

Applications Nos. 23053 and 27466, and

Case No. 4843

Mr . Ernest R. Geddes

Chairman Committ ee on Highways, Streets and Bridges

State Capitol Building, Sacramento, California

My DEAR MR. GEDDES: Recalling the dinner at Story House, Clare-

mont Men's College, last June 24th, and the discussion following with

reference to interurban transportation in this area;

I felt you would be interested in the enclosed report on "Statistical

Data and Trends Applying to the Transit Industry of the United States"

as submitted to our President, Mr. O. A. Smith, by Mr. Arthur C. Jenkins,

Consulting Engineer, who was engaged s pecif ically f or t he p ur po se of

aidin~; the Pacif ic Electric Railwa y i n f inding a solution to the pr oblem

of a modernized interurban transpor tation for the people it serves in

this area.

A R E P OR T O N S T A TI ST IC A L D A T A A ND TRENDS A PP LY ING TO TH E TRANSIT INDUSTRY

O F T HE U NITED ST A TES

PACIFIC ELECTRICRAILWAY COMPANYLos Angel'es, California

October 13, 1948

Submitted by;

Arthur C. JenkinsConsulting Engineer


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STATISTIC A L TRE ND S APPLYING TO THE TRANSIT

INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES

PageIntrod uction ---------------------- __ ___ __ _ _ 29

Rail Facilities Displaced by Mod ern Develo pments_ __ _ __ __ _ ___ ____ _ _ ____ __ _ ____ _ 29Change in Scope of Importance_ _______ ___ _ __ _________ __ __ _ ___ _ __ _ ___ _ __ _ _____ 31

Introduction of the M otor Bus __ __ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ __ _ __ _ ___ _ __ _ __ __ ___ _ ___ _ _ _ _ ____ __ 31Change in Tr aff ic Patter n _ __ _ __ _ ___ _ ____ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ ___ __ ____ ____ _ _ _ __ _ _ _______ _ _ 32

History of Financial Ad ver sity _ _ ____ _ __ _ _ _ _ ___ ____ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ ____ _ ___ _ __ __ __ _ _ _ 33

Sur vival Through R u bber Tir es_ _ __ _____ ____ _____ _ _ _____ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ ____ _ _ _ ____ 34Exhausting Sources of RelieL __ _ ___ _ _ ____ _ __ _______ __ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___ _ ______ 34

Private Ca pital Cannot Subsidize the Pu blic___ _ __ __ _ _ ___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _____ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ 35Simple Survival For mula ~ _ __ _ _ _____ __ _ 35

Mass Tr ansit and the Auto Closely Related_ __ _ _________ __ ______ _ _ _____ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ 35

Transit Lines L ose Gr i p on Ur ban and Suburban Develo pmenL __ _ ___ _ __ __ __ _ _ _ _ __ 36• Effect of Joint Fr eight Operations__ _ ____ _ _ ___ ______ ____ _ __ __ _ _ ___ __ ___ __ ___ _ _ 37

Intro duct ion

Although there has been much inf or mation wr itten in the var ioustr ade jour nals a pplying to the transit ind ustr y, r elative to the historyof mass passenger transpor tation operations, their pr esent status and the

pro bable outlook f or the f utur e, the mater ial is ord inar ily includ ed as a par t of many other items and not assem bled in a complete f ashion.

In an attem pt to bring together a f ew of the r elated features thatwill ex plain the tr ansformation taking place in tlie industry and givesome clew as to the possible futur e, there have been assem bled certainhistor ical data and factual information of a statistical natur e. The firstsection of the re port provides a general discussion of the back ground of the tr ansit ind ustr y and the second section treats more specifically thef actual data and statistics u pon which the d iscussion is based. The

pr incipal theme of this document is to ind icate the existence of a naturaltr end of surface passenger transit service away f rom oper ations by

electrified rails and toward use of r ubber tired vehicles, as a means of meeting the increased adver sity of financial d ef icits that over the pastyear s have become an i nherent part of rail operations, This has been duein lar ge part to the ina bility of f ixed r ail facilities to meet the f luid character of modern d ay living as intr od uced by the f lexibility of travelaf f ord ed the gener al public through the pr ivate automobile.

The second element of pr imary control is the relatively high costof oper ations of r ail service and the ver y great magnitud e of or iginalinvestment with uncertainties as to the possibility of amortization over the r elatively long per iod of years nor mally used in setting up amor tiza-tion schedules f or rail facilities.

Rail Facil ities Disp laced by Modern Development

In this country and abr oad the ra pid rise and f all of industr ies of various natur es is not at all uncommon. Every year this seq uence is

f ollowed by many character istic Amer ican industr ial developments.Ordinar ily the Public Utilities f ield is consid ered by t he gener al pu blicto be mor e or less exempt from the risks involved in other lines of industryand consid ered to be more or less comf orta bly pr otected by var iousutility r egulatory agencies of the var ious states and the Feder al Govern-ment.

This cyclic rise and f all in industry is a demonstration generally of the d evelopments in human progress and scientif ic ap plication of naturalresour ces in new field s and f or new purposes. The business and ind ustrialworld generally acce pt these radical changes as an inherent par t of thef ield of endeavor they have selected . In most cases it is the pu blic demand that forces the changes in an effort to bring into pr actice ap plication ona commercial basis the various discover ies and inventions prod uced bythe ar my of scientists in this country.

( 29 )

B-TR ENDS A NDSTATIS'MCS

1947 in the Transit Ind ustry____ ____ __ _ _ __ __ _ _____ _ ____ _ _ ____ ___ _ _ __ _ _ ____ _ _ _ _ 37Financial Tr end _ _ _ _ _ 38Tr end o f Tr affic 38

Trend From Rail to R u b ber Tir es ____ _ _ _ _ ___ _ __ ____ __ _ _ ___ ___ _ ___ __ __ _ _ _ ____ _ _ 39

Employees Earnings 39Trend of Types of Vehicles ._ ___ _ _ ____ _ _ __ __ _ 39Financial R esu lt s 1932 to 19017 40

Tr end as Between Diff er ent Types of Vehicles_ _ ____ _ _ __ ______ _ _ ___ __ _ _ ___ ___ _ _ _ 40General Comparison -- 40

Trend of Vehicles by Ty pes and Miles of R oute _ ______ _____ ___ _ _ _ _ _ _ ______ _ _____ 40

Chart 1.

Char t 2.

Chart 3.Char t 4.Chart 5.Chart 6,

Chart 7.

Tr ansit Tr end s-R esults of 1947 Tr ansit Operations _ ___ _ ___ __ __ _________ ____ __ ___ _ _ _ 42

Distr i bution of Transit R evenue by Types of Ser vice__ ____ _ _ __ ____ _ _ __ 42

Per centa ge Ch ange in 1947 Transi t Traf fic by Population Grou ps____ _ _ 42Em ployment and Em ployee Ear nings__ _ _ ____ __ __ _ _ _____ _ __ _ _ _ _ ___ __ 42

Trend of Passenger Vehicles Owned __ ___ _ __ ___ _ _______ _ ____ _ ___ _ _ _ _ 43

16 Y ear s of Transit O per ations ____ __ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _____ _ _ __ ____ 43

Total Tr ansit Passenger s i n t he United States by Ty pes of Ser vice 1922to 1947 44

Tr en d i n City Tr ansit Oper ations-Period 1922 to 1948 _ __ __ _ __ _ _ _ ___ _ __ 45

Statistical Data Relating to the Tr a ns it Ind ustr y in the United States as

of December 31, 1947 _ _ _ ____ __ _ _ ___ __ __ _ _ __ _ _ ___ ______ __ __ _ _ _ _ ___ 46R esults of Tr ansit O perations in the United States 1932 to 1947, Inclusive 47

Total Tr ansit Passenger s in the United States by Types of Service 1922to 1947 48

R evenue Vehicle Miles Oper ated in the United States by Ea ch T yp e of Tr ansit Vehicle-1926 to 1947 __ _ _ _ ____ _ _____ _ __ ____ _____ _ _ __ ___ _ _ 49

New Transit Equi pment Deliver ed in 1947 Classif ied Accord ing to Popula-tion Gr ou p and Seating Ca pacity of Busses___ _ _ ____ _ __ ___ _______ _ _ 49

5. New Passenger Eq uipment Delivered to '£r ansit Companies ir f th e United States-1936 to 1947 _ _ _ _ _ _ ____ __ __ ____ __ _ __ _ __ __ __ _ __ _ _ _ _ ___ _ _ __ 50

Transit Passenger Eq ui pment in 1947 Showing Types of Vehicles and Their Distr i bution by Po pulation Gr oups__ _ ______ _ ___ _ ____ __ _ _ _ _ __ 50

Total M iles of Electr ic R ailway Track , Motor Bus Route and Tr olley CoachRoute of the Transi t I nd ustry in the United S ta tes, 1947 Distributed

by Po pulation Grou ps _ ____ ______ _____ _ _ ____ __ ___ __ _ _ _ _ __ __ __ __ _ _ 50

Tr ends of Passenger Equipment in the United S ta tes-I926 to 1947- _____ _ 51Electr ic R ailway Track , Motor Bus H.oute and Trolle y C oach Route of the

Transit Industr y in the United States-1926 to 1947- _ ____ __ __ ______ 52Tr end in City Trans it O perations ~__ _ _ ____ _ _ _ 52


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During the past 50 years particularly, there should be hardly a per-son of mature age who cannot look back over his lifetime and recall ~multitude of changes in the technical applications of the many mecham-cal, electrical and chemical processes upon which his daily life is largelydependent. In our most basic utility fields this march of prog~ess has been highly manifested. To compare the present day telephone wIth thatof 25 or 50 years ago brings out the tremendous chang~s that have taken place in its application for greater speed , greater audIbility and longer distances, with developmen,t of mech30nical and electrical exchaI?gemechanisms to replace the less positive and far less competent handlmgof such routine duties by human hands.

A most typical example of the changes that have taken place in theutility field and the effects ·of competition between them, can be seen bycomparing the electrical utilities with the gas] utilities. The electricalindustry is relatively a new one and less than fifty years ago the use of illuminating gas was a common method of lighting. Gas was used for heating, power and many other purposes that have subsequently beentaken over by electrical energy. We need only look at some of the largemanufactured gas installations in California, and huge plants in other parts of the country that have been relegated into the field of obsolescenceand in some cases maintained only for standby purposes as a result of new discoveries in the field of scientific developments.

Even with all of those changes and the tremendous investments

that were rendered useless and a loss to their owners, there has been acontinuing upward trend in those phases of progress that react to the

benefit of the general public.In the fields of urban passenger transportation utilities, the forces

of obsolescence have been disastrous. There was a day when the horsecar was considered to be the latest and most modern development in masstransit facilities. That vehicle was rendered antiquated when the electricstreet railway came into being in 1888, only 70 years ago. The horse car,the cable car and the steam powered dummies were cast aside in favor of the new electrically propelled vehicle. With twenty-five years after introduction of the electric street railway, it began to feel the effects of competitive attack, and before its fiftieth anniversary in many locationsit had succumbed to its competitiors.

The secret of the electric railway was the combination of central power supply, overhead wires for power distribution and the electric

motor d irectly geared to the wheels of the cars. In 1890 there were 789companies operating 8,123 miles of single track, of which 1,261 were

powered by electricity. By 1902 there were 987 companies operating22,576 miles of single track almost exclusively powered by electricity. Inthe peak years of 1922 single track mileage according to the census of electrical industries stood at 43,931. It has been estimated that hardlyany American town of over ten thousand population was without atleast one railway promotion scheme before 1910 and in most casesactually were built.

Along with this development of electricity for operation of urbantransit vehicles, there followed further development and expansion intothe field of rapid transit in the metropolitan areas. In 1922 there were

601 miles of elevated railway with subway mileage of 325. Along withthose developments, came the expansion into the fields of suburban and interurban transportation.

In the 1920's the devastating effect of the privately operated motor vehicle began to be felt and from that time to this, its inroads upon urban,suburban and interurban transit operations have been continuous and more greatly accentuated. The automobile industry is almost as old as theelectric railway but its development was slower and it did not actually

become competitive in an effective fashion until after the first world war. Whereas prior to the advent of the automobile on a material scale,transit operators enjoyed a relative monopoly in the transportation of persons to and from. their work during the week and to and from pointsof recreational activity on week ends, the increasing use of the automo-

bile progressively cut into both of these fields.

Change in Scope of Importance

It is not beyond the memory of most of us to recall the days whenlarge real estate subdivisions were brought into being and developed largely, if not wholly, through the effects of the electric transit lines.These rail lines were extended in the early days from the central businessdistricts of cities through the residential areas and into the thinly settled territory beyond . As a result there was a growth of populated areas alongthe rail lines with numerous new communities developing and growing.

Except for the very few paved roads and unpaved county roads in theearly days, the railway provided about the only means of transit.

From the period of approximately 1917 to 1927, although in someof the larger cities the annual number of revenue passengers remained more or less constant, there was a significant change in the character of riding. In the first place, pleasure riding on transit lines practicallyceased. The number of Sunday and holiday passengers declined about20 percent as a result largely of the automobile and the increasing recog-nition of summer vacations. During that same period on the other hand,

- the use of transit facilities on business days increased slightly, especiallyduring the winter months together with an accentuation of travel during peak hours of the day.

Introduction of the Motor Bu s

Automotive competition with rail lines came primarily from the

motor coach and secondarily from the taxi cab. In the early 1920's,there was a short period of time during which almost every type of automobile, dilapidated and otherwise., was running competition to thestreet railway. The name" jitney bus" was given to those competitivevehicles which established the practice of charging a flat 5-cent fare.In most cases neither the cars nor the operators were licensed, and inmany instances the vehicles were unsafe. Their practice was largely toconcentrate upon the more lucrative territories of the street railwaysystem, running along the same streets picking up passengers ahead of the cars. Despite the harmful effect of the jitneys, they were the fore-runner of the legitimate motor coach operator.

The Bureau of Census reported 301 motor coach lines for 1927 and 498 in 1932. Of those lines, 268 were operated by electric companies and 230 were operated as successors to electric companies. As a result of this


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trend of competitive advantage on behalf of the motor coach the revolu-tion in the industry can easily be demonstrated throughou't the entir ecounty. This situation is not one that is peculiar to the State of California.As an example, in the State of Iowa in 1922, there were 22 electric rail-way companies operating 975 miles of track . In 1939 there were but~hree city.electr~c :-ailway.s and no~ more than thr ee int~rur ban railwaysm operatIOn. SImIlar ly, m Geor gIa, there were 11 raIlway companiesoperating 458 miles of electrified track . By 1939 there were only two

electric street railways remaining, one in Savannah and the other inAtlanta, neither of which wer e conducted at a profit. Their continued operation was possible only through support of the electric power companies of which they were a part.

Change in T raffie Pattern

Even in the early days of transit development, its success was lar gelydependent u pon the fact that its traffic load was somewhat evenly spread throughout the hours of the d ay and throughout the days of the week.It was the pr imary m?de of transportation. That traf fic pattern, how-ever, was changed radICally as the automobile has grown in its magni-tude of . use. The condition existing today is one wherein it can almost be said without question that the traf fic carried by transit operators con-sists of necessity riders. 'I.'he automo bile, almost without exception, hastaken over the pleasure and recr eational riding and in a large measure

the taxicabs have provided a means of travel f or those persons who t~a large extent would fall in the f r inge of the off - peak traffic.

Together "with this positive trend of reduction in traffic on transitlines to those of the essential category, there have come other elementsthat accentuate the adverse problem and conf r ont the carriers withcontinuous f inancial def icit. The span of peak hour travel both morningand evening, has grad ually been r educed to where a larg~ percentage of the total day's traf fic is concentrated within a per iod of two hours in themorning and two hours in the evening. This cond ition has been further aggravated by the continual upward trend in la bor costs and the pr o-gressively more restrictive provisions in operating labor agreements.The average patron of the transit lines commences his day's work between8 and S 0'clock in the mor ning and finishes between 4 and 5 in the~vening. '£he time it takes for him to get to his work and to get from it

IS a pro blem he. must ~olve and one which ordinarily his employer isnot concerned wIth. ThIS person, however, must be brought to his placeof emp~oyment in ~he mor ning ~nd taken to his home at night, bothtravel mtervals bemg beyond hIS normal eight hours of wor k . It isobvious that f or a transportation operation to accommodate this lar gevolume of traf fic, its equipment and employes must work hours thatcover a wider span than that of the mass of em ployes being carr ied.Despite this fact, there has been a continuing movement toward red uc-ing the ho~rs of spread of operators and trainmen to more near lyconform WIth those of the average office and business worker. Thiscondi~ion .has thrown an added cost burden upon the carriers, particu-larly m VIeWof the fact that a large number of employes are used onlyfor a shor t period of time in the morning and a short period in theevening, being non-productive throughout the major part of their work shift.

H istory of Financial Adversity

. Looking back over the past years of transit industry, we see a con-tmuous procession of bankru ptcies and receiver shi ps. Whereas the trac-tion_ baron of the 1900's was the symbol of swollen prof it in streetrailways, the question now a p pears to be whether to do without ser viceor to subsidize some agency, in order to insure its survival. The fund a-mental cause of this crisis has been the uniq ue character of the ser vice

provided . Transit operators stand ready with equi pment and f acilities

to deliver people from one point to another. Such service requires mini-mUlll schedules and a cor r espond ingly fixed amount of equipment, nomatter how slack its use may be. The commodity sold, namely, ser vice,has but one use and is highly per isha ble. A par tially f illed vehicle passingalong its route has a potential service to sell. Once it has passed by, that

potentiality perishes yet its costs are nevertheless incurred. Whereas,gas, when threatened in its ear ly days by electric competition for thelighting business, could and did develop new loads, the street r ailway in being attacked by competition of the automo bile has no measura ble alter -nate service to develop. It must stand or fall solely on its ability to meetthe competition. .

, The tremendous conver sion in transit o perations from electr ified railservice to rubber tired vehicles compr ises one of the many efforts exerted on behalf of transit oper ators to o btain relief from the financial squeeze

~hat i~ becoming more drastic with the passing of years, and to perpetuate~ts eXIStence, there has been a continuous struggle for survival in thflmdustry over the period since inception of the automobile on a largescale .. In the early days of d evelopment of the electr ic railway system,huge mvestments were r eq uir ed for the acq uisition of proper ty and con-struction of fixed facilities, includ ing tr ack and roadway electricaldistribution and transmission as well as power conversioJ facilities.1\lthough such projects were launched upon what appeared to be a f inan-CIally sound basis, if there had been no competitive element involved theam~rtizati bn period due to the nature of the f acilities was over a long

per IOd of years and the financial bind that ultimately developed f or manyof the pr operties resulted from their ina bility to meet their financial obli-gations under the reduced volume of traffic and the increased costs of doing business.

Under such circumstances it is no wonder that the transit o per ators

have ch~sen to take advantage of the shorter amor tization per iods thatare pOSSIblewhen provid ing service by rub ber tired vehicles wher e theheavy f ir st investment in fixed facilities is not required. The~ have seenand stud ied the history of the transit industry and as any good businessman should , they have pr ofited by those ex periences and taken steps to protect their investments by avoiding the pitfalls of their pred ecessors.

Theref ore, in analyzing the tr ansformation that has taken place inthe transit ind ustry, f urther recognition should be given to the basiccauses of that transformation and not too much weight thrown u pon whatmay appear to be from outward indications the manifestation of financial benefit to other industr ial agencies. The condition in which the tr ansitindustry finds itself today is one that has come about through naturalcauses and is typically an example of the workings of nature in manyother enterprises. Any private industr y developed upon private capital


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must operate in accordance with a simple financial formula. Its incomemust be gr eater than its outgo or it ceases to exist.

Survival T hr ough Rubber Tir es

Tr ansformation from rail to rub ber tired vehicles has been a meanst? ~he end, and without q uestion has been the only means by which manycItIes and communities have not been entir ely depr ived of passenger transportation service. In evaluating this problem of mass passenger

transportation in the tr ansit field , the conclusion is evident that weighingall elements, the inter ests of the public from the point of its ultimatecomfort and convenience is in conf lict with the inescapable elements of the financial inter ests of private carr ier s. All will no doubt concede thatin a thickly populated metropolitan area where tr affic concentrations ar eat extremely high density, the individ ual person would be accorded amuch mor e comfor table and convenient mode of transportation by a s pa-ciously arranged, large capacity rail car with a seat per passenger and equipped with all mod ern conveniences of ventilation, ail' conditioning,temper atur e control and such, than he enjoys in riding on ru b ber tired vehicles under pr esent oper ating conditions.

It is furthermore obvious to anyone acquainted with the practicalas pects of the problem and the f inancial reactions involved , that suchcommodious and d eluxe service by electric rail facilities cannot possi bly

be provid ed to the public by private capital. This situation has been

d emonstrated over and over again apd the soundness of the theor y is justified by exper iences in the past. It might be said, and pr obably will, by some that the downfall of the transit industry should be largelyattri buted to failur e of management to fulfill its mission.

In certain isolated cases, this theory may be possible of proof . How-ever , it d oes not follow a logical process of reasoning to contend thatsuch is the case when the entire industr y throughout the country embrac-ing all major cities and practically all of the smaller cities have exper i-enced the same conditions. Ther e is just no other answer than that masstransit operations by rail have been passing through a natural period of d ecline that has been in general entirely beyond the control of manage-ment and owner.

E xhausting Sources o f Relief

It its f ight f?r sur;r ival, the industr y has fairly well exhausted allsources. of fina??Ial rplIef as of the pr esent time. When the change ineconomIC condItIOns began to tak e on harmful proportions as indicated a bove, the heavy investments in fixed facilities and property threw a

burden upon the companies that in many instances could not be su p- ported o~t of e~rnings. As a result there was a long series of bankruptciesand receIvershIps. The first major effort of the surviving' companies tocombat the problems confronting them was to resort to financial reorgani-zation in an effort to reduce the burden of fixed charges.

The next ma jor step was to take advantage of the economies availa blethrough operation of one-man str eet cars and the conversion of electr icalsubstations and other facilities to automatic control to the fullest extent

possible.

As the f inancial d eficits continued to cree p u pward , the industr y wasf orced with the necessity of a bandoning rail facilities in favor of rubber

tired vehicles as a means of not only af f ecting economies in manpower requirements, but also to obtain r elief fr om the heavy costs of maintainingtrack and roadways, the high cost o f taxes on extensive land holdingsrequired by rail operations and to obtain r elief f r om the dr astic and oftentimes unreasonable bur d ens of franchise r equirements imposed uponthem for use of public streets, by municipalities and other political sub-divisions.

In marching through this procession of economic measures, ther ehas also been an attendant u pwar d tr end in passenger f ar es. Both condi-tions have tended to drive away patronage. The only r eason that in somelarge metropolitan areas there a ppears to have been a continuing upward trend in total traffic is the fact that the r ate of incr ease of population hasmore than offset the rate of decr ease in r id es per capita.

Privat e Capital Canno t Subsid ize the Public

There is one school of thought that d e plor es the id ea of abandoningand removing railway tr acks, pr imarily based upon the possible use of such f acilities in case of national emer gency such as conf r onted thecountr y during the last war. It is true that gr eat benefit was d erived bythe war effort through existence of the r emaining track s that could beused for transporting passenger s to and from the war industr y in lieu of using smaller ca pacity motor coaches r equiring rubber tires that wer e

extremely scarce and consuming gasoline that was need ed for other phasesof the war effort.In no less d egree such rail f acilities would be of immeasurable value

in the event of another conflict, however , the tolls of war and the cost of waging it ar e r ecognized as being pro perly levied against the peoples of a nation as a whole and it is entir ely beyond any conce pt of r easonableapplication of economic theories'in a domestic country such as this, that

private industr y should maintain and perpetuate facilities that might benecessary in national d efense when they cannot be maintained exce ptingat a very heavy financial loss to their owner .

Simple Sur vival Formula

The one simple rule of economie

Documents

1949 Rapid Transit Metropolitan Areas Related Problems