The Railway Library, 1909 / A Collection of Noteworthy Chapters, Addresses, and Papers Relating to Railways, Mostly Published During the Year

by Unknown

In the next statement the salient facts in regard to the passenger traffic since the Commission began collecting the data is passed under review.

Year	Passengers Carried (Millions)	Passengers Carried One Mile (Millions)	Mileage Passenger Trains (Millions)	Average Passengers in Train	Average Journey Miles	Passenger Revenue (Millions)	Average Receipts per Passenger Mile (Cents)
1909	888	29,452	507	58	33	504	1.916
1908	890	29,082	500	59	33	566	1.937
1907	873	27,718	509	51	32	564	2.014
1906	797	25,167	479	49	31	510	2.003
1905	738	23,800	459	48	32	472	1.962
1904	715	21,923	440	46	31	444	2.006
1903	694	20,915	425	46	30	421	2.006
1902	649	19,689	405	45	30	392	1.986
1901	607	17,353	385	42	29	351	2.013
1900	576	16,038	363	41	28	323	2.003
1899	523	14,591	347	41	28	291	1.978
1898	501	13,379	334	39	27	267	1.973
1897	489	12,256	335	37	25	251	2.022
1896	511	13,049	332	39	26	266	2.019
1895	507	12,188	317	38	24	252	2.040
1894	540	14,289	326	44	26	285	1.986
1893	593	14,229	335	42	24	301	2.108
1892	560	13,362	317	42	24	286	2.126
1891	531	12,844	308	42	24	281	2.142
1890	492	11,847	285	41	24	260	2.167
1889	472	11,553	277	42	25	254	2.199
1888	412	10,101	252	40	24	237	2.349
Increase	115%	191%	101%	45%	38%	138%
1888 to 1907
Decrease							18.4

The several increases shown in the first, second, third and sixth columns of the table reflect the general advancement in passenger traffic. That of 45% in the average passengers to a train marks the progress in density of that traffic which may eventually place it on a profitable basis. In Massachusetts, where this density yields an average of 79 passengers to a train there is no demand for a two-cent rate statute, for the conditions have made a rate of 1.64 cents profitable. In the group of states consisting of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota, where the density of traffic yields only 46 passengers by train, a statutory two-cent fare becomes confiscatory because it costs at least one dollar to operate a passenger train one mile and 46 times two cents is only 92 cents. Moreover the 46 passengers per train is only an average and there are as many trains that average less as more. The average has to be raised above 50 to yield any margin of profit on passenger traffic. If it were not for the density of traffic in the New England and North Atlantic group of states the average for the entire United States would be well below 46 passengers per train.

The steady increase in the distance traveled per passenger reflects the effect of trolley competition in diverting the short haul passenger traffic.

The most noteworthy feature of the seventh column is the decline of 98/1000ths of a cent in the average receipts per passenger mile between 1907 and 1909, making a new low record after hovering around the two cent mark for fourteen years. As noted above, this reduction in the average cost the railways nearly $29,000,000 on the passenger traffic of 1909.

In this connection it is interesting to recall that between 1888 and 1893 the Official Statistician, then as now Professor Adams, made the following computation of the average cost of carrying one passenger one mile for the whole United States:

	1888	1889	1890	1891	1892	1893
Average cost of carrying a passenger one mile, cents	2.042	1.993	1.917	1.910	1.939	1.955

It will be observed that the average receipts per passenger mile in 1909 are below the computed cost in every one of the years above named, except 1891. When the advance in the cost of everything necessary to the service—track, labor, equipment, conveniences, speed, terminal facilities—is considered, the practical coincidence of average cost and receipts leaves no margin for legitimate profits.