Hearings, Reports and Prints of the House Committee on the District of Columbia

The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:45 a.m., in Room 1310, Longworth House Office Building, Honorable John Dowdy (chairman of the Subcommittee) presiding.

Present: Representatives Dowdy (Chairman), Gude, and McKinney.

Also present: James T. Clark, Clerk; Hayden S. Garber, Counsel; John Hogan, Minority Clerk, and Leonard O. Hilder, Investigator. Mr. DOWDY. The Subcommittee will come to order.

When the Congress in 1933 authorized the merger of the street railway corporations operating in the District of Columbia (Act of July 14, 1933; 7 Stat. 752), it provided for a reduced fare of 3 cents for school children in the District.

In 1958 the school fare was established at the present rate of 10 cents; the present adult fare is 40 cents.

To cover the difference in the 10 cents charge to school children and the actual cost of the service, the 87th Congress adopted a policy that, subject to the formula then established, there would be paid to the common carriers transporting D.C. school children the difference between the children's reduced fare and the lowest adult fare, as a public cost to the District of Columbia.

Present authorization expires August 31, 1971.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Commission requested legislation to extend his authority for three years, or until 1974. The Chairman of this Committee, Mr. McMillan, introduced this bill, H.R. 6638, which will extend the authority for three years. (H.R. 6638 follows:)

[H.R. 6638, 92d Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To amend the Act of August 9, 1955, relating to school fare subsidy for transportation of school children within the District of Columbia

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled. That section 2 of the Act entitled "An Act to provide for the regulation of fares for the transportation of school children in the District of Columbia," approved August 9, 1955 (D.C. Code, Sec. 44-214a), as amended by an Act approved October 8, 1968, is further amended by deleting "1971" and substituting "1974”.

PRESENT LAW AS AMENDED BY H.R. 6638

D.C. CODE, TIT. 44, SEC. 414A (ACT OF AUG. 9, 1955, 76 STAT. 113; AMENDED OCT. 18, 1968, 82 STAT. 1187, AS AMENDED BY H.R. 6638)

(Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic)

#44-214a. Fares for schoolchildren not over 18 years of age-Formula for adjusting and payment of fare subsidy.

In the case of any common carrier required to furnish transportation to schoolchildren at a reduced fare under this Act, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Commission shall certify to the Commissioner of the District of Columbia, with respect to each calendar month commencing with September 1968, and ending August 1971 1974, all inclusive, an amount which is the difference between the total of all reduced fares paid during such calendar month to such carrier by school children in accordance with this Act and the amount which would have been paid during that month to such carrier if such fares had been paid at the lowest adult fare established by the Commission for regular route transportation in that month. The certification required by this section shall be made for each such month as soon as practicable following the end thereof. The Commissioner of the District of Columbia, upon receiving any such certification, shall pay the carrier with respect to which that certification was filed an amount equal to the amount contained therein.

Mr. Dowdy. We have with us this morning Mr. George Avery, who is the Chairman of the Metropolitan Area Transit Commission. Mr. Avery, if you will come around, we will be glad to hear your statement.

STATEMENT OF GEORGE A. AVERY, CHAIRMAN, WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN AREA TRANSIT COMMISSION; ACCOMPANIED BY DOUGLAS SNYDER, GENERAL COUNSEL

Mr. AVERY. Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee. I am accompanied by Mr. Douglas Snyder, who is the General Counsel of the Transit Commission.

I am George A. Avery, Chairman of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Commission.

The Commission is an instrumentality of Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, which has the responsibility for establishing fares to be charged by privately-owned mass transit bus companies in the Metropolitan District, which includes the District of Columbia and the suburban counties in Maryland and Virginia.

I appreciate this opportunity to offer my views on this important legislation.

BACKGROUND OF LEGISLATION

For many years, as you pointed out in your opening statement, transit companies in the District of Columbia have been required by law to carry school children at a fare not exceeding one-half the established adult fare. The present school fare of ten cents per ride

(2)

was established in 1958. This reduced rate does not provide sufficient revenue to cover the cost of carrying school children.

Until three years ago, when Public Law 90-605 was enacted, the other riders of the bus companies had to make up this unrecovered cost since in setting fares we, the Transit Commission, had to provide sufficient revenues to cover all costs.

However, in the 1968 legislation (Public Law 90-605) the Congress made it possible to have the cost of carrying school children at the reduced rate borne by the community as a whole. The 1968 law required—And I might say parenthetically that this pertains only to two carriers, D.C. Transit and W.M.A., the only ones providing intradistrict services. The 1968 law required the government of the District of Columbia to pay to the carriers the difference between what the school children pay and what they would pay if they were required to pay the full adult fare.

Philosophically, we at the Commission believe that the 1968 law places the burden of providing transportation for school children where it properly belongs, on the community at large, rather than on only those members of the community who happen to ride the bus. Speaking from the standpoint of the practical result, we can report that the shift of that burden has resulted in substantial benefit to the city's bus riders and to the city itself.

We are all aware of the serious inflation that the nation has experienced during the past few years. For the local transit industry, as for the industry nationwide, increasing costs have imposed the requirement to charge increasing amounts of fare. For District of Columbia riders, the bus fare on D.C. Transit has reached 40 cents. I might say that on W.M.A. that has just recently gone to 45 cents. And if the school fare subsidy were not available, that fare would be even higher.

SUBSIDIES PAID (1969-1971)

During the year ended August 31, 1969, the first year the new school fare subsidy law was in effect, the District of Columbia paid $1,375,870 to D.C. Transit for carrying school children. At that year's ridership level, the riders, absent the subsidy, would have paid an additional 112 cents per ride on D.C. Transit within the District of Columbia. Now, very likely that 112 cents would have been rounded off probably upwards to two cents if we had not had the subsidy; or there is a possibility of it being rounded off downward to one cent; but it would have been in the neighborhood of one cent or two cents.

In the following year, the school fare subsidy paid to D.C. Transit was $1,942,437. Translated into fares, the D.C. Transit rider would have paid an additional two cents per ride in that second year if the subsidy had not been paid.

In the third year, ending August 31, 1971, the school fare subsidy should amount to $2,967,736 for D.C. Transit. This, at current ridership levels, would mean an additional three to four cents for an intraD.Č. ride on D.C. Transit. These estimates do not take resistance to the increased amounts into account, and if that resistance is considered, the subsidy of the last three years has enabled us to hold the fare down at

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