Fremont and Green Lake Lose Their Streetcars—and Their Conductors
A new schedule halves service, strips conductors from the cars, and has Fremont residents crying foul over a city ordinance.
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 first cars to Fremont and Green Lake are now operated under a new schedule, which went into effect yesterday morning, and, as a result, Fremont people have registered a vigorous protest. Heretofore cars left Main and Commercial streets every seventeen minutes for Fremont, but now they only leave once every half hour. Heretofore Green Lake had a car every thirty-four minutes, but now will have one but once an hour. In addition to this the conductors on cars running between Fremont and Green Lake have been taken off, leaving but one man in charge of them. A trailer runs to Fremont during the busiest hours of the day.
This change, so it is claimed at Fremont, was made without any notice whatever, and the people of Fremont have kicked. It is claimed that the distance to Green Lake being but eight miles, the cars could easily make the run in forty-five minutes, but motormen are compelled to occupy one hour in the trip. The action of the company in dispensing with the conductors is also alleged to be in violation of a city ordinance which especially requires two men on each car.
C. S. Clark, general superintendent of the road, said last evening that he had not heard of any protests and until he did he would have nothing to say. But he did say that the Green Lake people should be required to pay 10 cents instead of 5, and under the circumstances he did not see that they had any cause to complain.
“"This change, so it is claimed at Fremont, was made without any notice whatever, and the people of Fremont have kicked."”
Seattle's transit fights are older than light rail: a private streetcar company cut service, removed safety staff, and told riders to pay more, while the neighborhood invoked city law. The same questions—public oversight versus corporate schedules—still shape how the region gets around.
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