Statesman Journal from Salem, Oregon • Page 35

Garden Travel TV Features rejaoti SALEM Statesman, Salem, Jan. 2, '66 (Sec. IV) 35 Bus Drivers Losi mnt Battle Homo founded 1651 OREGON Va HQ Tax Support Apparently Is Last Recourse 1 1 ivi ''m I ii I I Shunned by Many, Vital to Some Bus lines the na- many empty seats, as exemplified by this photo of a Salem Capital Transit Lines bus driven by Norman Dwyer. The trend is to the private automobile. Yet thousands of people still must rely on so-called mass transportation systems.

(Statesman Photo). tion over have been having increasing troubles for years. Many have folded. Others are on the ragged edge, facing tax support or oblivion. The problem is too By ALLEN MORRISON Staff Writer, The Statesman Capital Transit Lines the spunky, driver-owned bus company serving the Greater Salem Area for six years, reportedly is coming to the end of the And it is not alone in its apparent fate.

Its demise, should it come to that, would only follow a nationwide pattern of private transit systems going out of business because of financial troubles. The 1964 Urban Mass Transportation Act of Congress provides liberal federal assistance to transit systems, but only if they are publicly owned. And Salem is considering submitting public ownership of a bus system to voters next May. The operational and financial decline of Capital Transit Inc. vital to many residents, is nothing new.

It has never been able to get into high financial gear since 16 drives bought a bankrupt compai3 rolling stock Jan. 14, If 59, for $2,900. And as its plight becomes more and more severe, many questions arise. Many Questions Broached What is the history of the bus company here? What prompted the drivers to buy the defunct company with 17 old buses and then hold it together for six years despite low wages, long working hours, poor working conditions and aging equipment? How many persons would be without means of transportation if mass transit ends in Salem? Who rides buses and why? The answers to most of these questions and numerous others are contained in city administrative reports of March 3 and Dec. 23 of this year, documents based on extensive studies.

Folded Following Dispute The company was being operated as City Transit under owner Louis Soukup when it folded up in August of 1958 following a labor dispute with its union drivers. Bankruptcy referees then operated the bus company with mostly non-union drivers until it was sold at public auction. The union drivers, led by temporary officers Norman Yagle and Har-ley Cross, won out in bidding against owner Soukup and Edwin Kinns, who was serving as office manager for the court-operated company. Soukup quit bidding at $2,000, though the city listed the bus company's assets at $13,400 buses and equipment $2,900, stock subscribed for by drivers, sale of stock, $3,750 and cash from loan, $5,000. The drivers quickly won a franchise from an anxious city council and began operating as 1960 arrived.

The union drivers had been out of work since August. They quickly expanded routes, regained lost customers. pledged an all-out effort to keep a bus system here and won the hearts of government officials and citizens. Near End of Line Now, six years later, its corporate officers, led by President Ernest Winn, admit they can't hold on much longer. The company offered to sell the business to the city to operate it for $17,000.

The city answered that providing the voters were willing to approve public ownership, it could give the 18-stockholder-drivers only $13,025. But the city conceded the extra $3,000 to avoid a possible fight and because it felt the drivers deserved it by pulling off an almost impossible task of keeping the company going as long as they did. Its financial statement bears out the company's dedication: 1960, revenues were $145,587, expenditures, $149,107, a loss of 1961, net of $28; 1962, a net of 1963, a loss of 1964, a loss of $579. The 1965 figures are not reported, but it has been a comparatively good year because of considerable dry weather, a condition that prompts bus riding. The real problem is that the company hasn't any money to buy new buses, and the youngest of its 17 buses is a 1947 model.

It is becoming almost impossible to keep the rolling stock rolling. Vote May Come May 24 The drivers want to hold on until the city has a chance to try for voter approval of a public bus system and an annual tax levy of $100,000 to operate an adequate transit. In 1964, Capital Transit Lines served 703,100 fare-paying passengers. This figure includes return trips, which would bring the number of persons using the buses to about half of the fare paying total, city officials say. About 84 per cent of the passengers are women, many of them elderly, single women.

About 32 per cent of the women passengers use the bus to get to work. Children under driving age account for the greater portion of the remaining 16 per cent. For many of the passengers, especially the elderly, the buses are the only economical means of transportation. In fact, 83 per cent of all riders either do not have a car or cannot drive. The $100,000 annual tax levy would represent about one mill, based on current valuation in the city.

One mill on a $15,000 home assessed at $3,750 would amount to about $3.70 a year. In order that suburban residents wouldn't be subsidized too much, the city would charge a higher fee for suburban fares, officials said. They'd Have Headaches City Manager Douglas W. Ayers and his administrators are not looking forward very eagerly to problems of running a public transit. But if voters agree, they promised to: Improve the service by providing 17 new diesel-powered, clean and attractive buses; establish a system that the public can be confident will continue in operation; permit the maximum use of revenues through efficient, management, a relieve some congestion in the core of the city.

The city would apply for a $283,480 federal grant to buy out the driver-owned company; purchase 17 buses (29 passenger); new fare boxes and pedestals; construct bus bays at the city shops and a weather shelter for buses; buy route signs and paint curbs for bus stops; and buy a two-ton tow truck, a hydro brush to wash equipment, tokens and a vehicle for a trained transit administrator. The latter would be hired to run the bus system under the Department of Public Works. Drivers Would Get Jobs How about the drivers, would they get a job? Yes, they would be offered jobs and would serve out a regular six-month probationary period, much in the same way other city employes are hired. About $10,000 would be budgeted annually for a trained administrator and a total of yearly for about 23 drivers. Tentative monthly salaries for drivers would be in the $400 class.

They would be eligible for a 5 per cent wage increase after six months and other regular city raises. The wages would be for a 40-hour work week, with time and a half for overtime, sick leave, retirement plan and any other city fringe benefits and vacations. Can the driver -owned company fold up and cancel its franchise without government approval? It could, but doesn't want to because its chances of continuing under public ownership would fade. Besides, the 18 stockholders have an investment in the company which would be threatened if it just folded its tent and walked away. Ta addition many of the driv ers need a job, and really want to see the bus system continue.

City financial experts who have examined the bus operation say the corporate officers have done a "good job" and maintained reasonably tight fiscal management. The bus company's decline is simply a matter of lack of patronage, a situation common in other cities of this size, they claim. In fact, administrators reported that the company would have been defunct long ago if the corporate officers had not been frugal by working long hours, reducing vacations, days off, and taking home an average monthly check of only $310. The mechanics have been uncanny, administrators say, in keeping the buses repaired despite their age and the difficulty in buying parts. The city would continue routes in much the same manner now scheduled.

This would include 13 scheduled routes. The four other buses contemplated would be used for charter and special runs and for standby and repair. Rates Would Continue Present rates established in 1959 would probably continue: adults 25 cents; 15 cents for children under 12, or 10 cents with tokens. Children over 12 pay a quarter, or 15 cents with tokens, an enticement for school riders. Riders outside the city area pay an extra 5 cents.

Couldn't the line make money if fares were raised? That's been tried in many places. As cost of fares goes up, patronage goes down by the law of diminishing returns. So something else has to be tried or else..