Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 40.djvu/811

Rh passengers carried and car mileage becomes essential, and from this it appears that electric railways show a less number of passengers per car mile than either of the other classes, the number of passengers carried per car mile being, for cable railways, 4·38; for electric railways, 3·46; and for railways operated by animal power, 4·95. Thus the electric railways carry a less number of passengers per car mile than either of those operated by cable or by animal power. The assumption is made in the census report that this variation is explained by the fact that electric roads, being new, occupy lines over which the passenger traffic has been but partly developed.

The expense per car mile and per passenger, the cost of road and equipment, and the volume of passenger traffic are essential for a full understanding of the financial side of the question. From the statistics reported it is seen that the total cost of road and equipment per mile of line (meaning thereby street length) is, for cable railways, $350,324.40; for electric railways, $46,697.59; and for railways operated by animal power, $71,387.38; and the number of passengers carried per mile per year is, for cable railways, 1,355,965; for electric railways, 222,648; and for railways operated by animal power, 596,563. From these figures it appears to be true that cable railways attain their greatest efficiency where an extremely heavy traffic is to be handled, and that electric railways and those operated by animal power are used where the traffic is not so heavy, or is more generally diffused.

The operating expense per car mile is: For cable railways, 14·12 cents; for electric railways, 13·2l cents; for railways operated by animal power, 18·16 cents; and the operating expense per passenger carried is, for the different powers as named, respectively, 3·22 cents, 3·82 cents, and 3·67 cents; but, including interest charge per car mile at assumed rate of six per cent, the sum of operating expense and interest per car mile is: For cable railways, 20*91 cents; for electric railways, 17·56 cents; and for railways operated by animal power, 21·71 cents. These charges, both actual and estimated, show a somewhat greater expense for cable roads per car mile than for electric roads; but when the interest charge is considered on the basis of passengers carried, and added to the operating expense, the sum of operating expense and interest per passenger is as follows: For cable railways, 4·77 cents; for electric railways, 5·08 cents; for railways operated by animal power, 4·39 cents, showing a less cost for operating expense and interest charge per passenger for cable railways than for electric railways. In the first instance, the greater charge for cable railways is on account of the much greater cost and equipment per mile; while the greater number of passengers carried by cable railways per mile reduces the ratio of expense on the passenger basis.