The City Council Takes on the Cable Company
Tacoma officials vow to hold transit operators accountable for 'dummy cars' and street congestion.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The unsatisfactory street car service in some parts of the city was one of the topics discussed at the council meeting last night. The matter was brought to the attention of the city fathers by Councilman Olson, who reported complaints regarding the small open 'dummy' cars on the cable line. Olson stated: 'The company is operating those little dummy cars, which are so small that ladies sitting down are many times insulted by having some man standing almost on top of them when the cars are crowded. The company gives the excuse that one strand of the cable is broken and it cannot operate the larger cars until it is repaired. That may be so, but the fact is we never had decent service on that line.' Councilman Olson introduced a resolution for the city attorney to examine the company's franchise to see if they can be compelled to provide better service. The resolution passed unanimously. Councilman Hammond also requested an investigation into the company's right to store idle cars on C Street near Ninth Street, which blocked the thoroughfare during the day.
“The company gives the excuse that one strand of the cable is broken... That may be so, but the fact is we never had decent service on that line.”
Tacoma’s long-running struggle with public transit capacity and reliability feels remarkably contemporary. While we no longer debate 'dummy cars,' the tension between city oversight and private operator performance remains a pillar of local governance.
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