Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 10.djvu/814

 798 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

clerks employed in the business districts can live 8 to 9 miles out and ride to and from their homes for 5 cents, while the Glasgow " suburbanite," to travel equal distances, if the lines extended that far, would have to pay 7 and 8 cents, respectively. A journey of 15 or 1 6 miles out from central points in Boston, by connection with outlying suburban lines, may be taken for 10 cents, and 20 to 25 miles for 15 cents. The same distances under the Glasgow rates would cost 13, 14, 18, and 22 cents, respectively.

The short-ride and congested-district character of the Glasgow service must be borne in mind in connection with the fact that the average amount received per passenger, based on the returns of annual earnings, is a little less than 2 cents. In Boston, counting the free transfer passengers, it is about 3*4 cents. But what is the effect of the sliding scale on Glasgow traffic? Simply, that the great bulk of the travel consists of short rides within the city limits. Thirty-six per cent, of the passengers pay i-cent fares that is, ride only half a mile; 56 per cent, pay the 2-cent fare, covering 2.33 miles; only 8 per cent, pay fares of 3 cents and upward ; in other words, only 8 per cent, make journeys of more than 3.5 miles.

To be even more explicit : The most distant suburban point to which the Glasgow tramways extend is Paisley, 6.95 miles. To get there costs 6 cents, or 7 from the center of the city. The next farthest point is Clydebank, 6.39 miles ; fare, 6 cents. Three other suburbs are between 4 and 5 miles, and one about 3^. From Park Street station, Boston, a passenger may ride 9.53 miles to Arlington Heights for 5 cents; 9.83 miles to Charles River Bridge; 8.23 miles to Arlington Center; 8 miles to Waverley; 7.9 miles to the Melrose line; 7.36 miles to Milton; 7.3 miles to Neponset; 6.32 miles to Woodlawn; and 6.04 miles to Lake Street; and the uniform fare for any one of these jour- neys, or for any two of them in combination, through free trans- fer, is 5 cents.

The Glasgow system is not doing what it might and ought toward relieving the terrible congestion of workingmen's families huddled within the cramped distance limits. That the need of such distribution is great appears from the fact that more than