Street-Railway Rates, with Especial Reference to Differentiation

G. P. Watkins

The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1911, vol. 25, issue 4, 623-649

Abstract: I. The principle of differentiation: Apparently opposite characteristics of steam-railroad and street-railway rates, 624, — Summary of principles at the foundation of the differential rates of steam railroads, 625. — Their relation to branch-line deficits, 626. — II. Character of the street-railway flat rate: The street-railway flat rate, equally with the differential rates of steam roads, is not adjusted to cost, 628. — The nickel is the convenient price for a service that will be generally demanded only if the price be small, 629. — This price once adopted, concessions and adjustments to new developments have more easily been made elsewhere than in the rate, 630. — Costs of street-railway carriage vary greatly, 634. — Even the zone system does not adjust rates to costs, 635. — Passenger business in general is less susceptible to external differentiation, 636. — The responsiveness to lowered rates of the demand for street-railway service is about maximal for all classes at the nickel, 637. — Importance of combining "lean" with "fat," 639. — III. Certain applications of differentiation in street-railway practice: The distance limit of the ride from the center of the city to be had for 5 cents is not fixed by the prime cost of the particular service, 640. — The growth of a comprehensive system does not necessarily mean an increase in the average length of ride, 642. — Rapid transit lines may be expected to preserve the 5-cent rate to distant residence districts, 643. — Transfers are an accident of the passenger trip which should not ordinarily affect the rate, tho joint-rates may well be higher, 645. — Differentiation in the quality of service may be economically justifiable, 647. — Overcrowding at rush periods is not to be determined by merely physical standards, 648.

Date: 1911
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