Word: railings
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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Just what sort of creature is the modern-day commuter? If he travels by rail, he is a man (few women are commuters) of almost inflexible habits. A slave to the timetable, he is often up before the farmers, and into bed before his teen-age sons...
...suffer from the bad reputation earned in the days of the Robber Barons, when, as a monopoly, they often gouged the public. Now, though they are far from monopoly, they find it tough to get permission from the ICC and state utility commissions for fare increases. The Long Island Rail Road, biggest U.S. commuter line, was unable to get a fare hike from 1918 to 1947, despite repeated requests. Other railroads waited too long to press for hikes, let fares over the years fall far behind rising costs. Most claim that they now need 50% to 70% higher fares just...
...intelligent New Haven rider, for instance, knows that if the road cannot make money, it will go bust-and he will have to find another, more expensive way to work. Many roads fear that raising fares much more will drive more commuters to the auto. But the sturdy rail commuters still left have little taste for exchanging their lot for traffic chaos. The Long Island has raised fares four times since 1956, yet has never lost more than 1% of its commuters after any hike...
...years the railroads have been hit for hefty taxes by every little town they pass through. They are also prime targets for states such as New Jersey, which, says the ICC, assesses rail property at 100% of value while setting a lower base for other taxpayers. When a railroad repairs a bridge or improves a parking lot, it is not praised, but taxed more heavily. New York City forced the Central to build a new $23 million bridge over the Harlem River in such a way that a new highway could pass under it, then upped taxes on the bridge...
...plea for subsidy with the same disapproval they show of kids who throw rocks at trains. What they do want is equal treatment with all other forms of transportation, including tax equality or outright tax relief. In this, they have a shining example to encourage them: the Long Island Rail Road, which once vied with the New Haven in the race to ruin, now enjoys a reputation as the best New York commuter railroad...