[Vol. 28] Public Service Commission In the Matter of the Petition of SOUTHERN NEW YORK POWER AND RAILWAY CORPORATION under Section 184, Railroad Law, for Approval of a Declaration of Abandonment of a Portion of its Constructed Route in the City of Oneonta Case No. 699 (Public Service Commission, November 15, 1922- Received December, 1922) Street railways - application for approval of a declaration of abandonment approved. Upon the application of a street railway company for approval of a declaration of abandonment of a portion of its route it appeared that the route was used almost entirely by the pupils and faculty of a normal school, and that the limited patronage of such route results in financial loss to the company. Held, that the company should not be compelled to continue operations which can only result in the exhaustion of its assets. The declaration of abandonment is approved but operation should be continued until an opportunity is given for a dif ferent means of transportation to be established. Nathaniel P. Willis, for petitioner. George L. Bockes, for State Normal School and for 500 petitioners in opposition to abandonment. G. E. Miller, mayor of the city of Oneonta. George L. Gibbs, city attorney, Oneonta. Frank Gurney, city engineer, Oneonta. Mangan & Mangan (by Thomas J. Mangan), for New York State Department of Education. Public Service Commission STATEMENT OF CASE [Vol. 28] BLAKESLEE, Commissioner.- Petitioner asks approval of a declaration of abandonment of a portion of its route in the city of Oneonta. That part proposed to be abandoned extends from Chestnut street over and along Church street to Center street, along Center street to Maple street, and thence along Maple street in a northerly direction to the State Normal School. It is about one mile long and known as the "Normal line." One car is operated thereon, making round trips each half hour between the Normal School and the Delaware and Hudson railroad station. The gross receipts of the line during 1921 were $4,538.55; the operating expenses $9,068.26, resulting in a net operating loss of $4,529.71. It is claimed that the loss during the first five months of 1922 was larger in proportion than that of 1921. The company further contended that to continue to operate would require an additional investment of $54,000, entailing an operating loss of $8,380 per year. This is predicated on the necessity of repairing and rebuilding the line, and further, on the amount which it would be compelled under the law to pay toward the expenses of paving in Maple, Church and Center streets. The Normal line" was built about twenty years ago. It has not been kept in good repair; the tracks have settled; there are a number of broken rail ends, fish plates are loose and the rails at the joints are depressed. The poles and wires are said to be in fair condition. The car used in operating, while not new, is serviceable. It is clear that the line is not being operated with much efficiency. The car is said to make a speed of about five miles per hour, which is about as fast as petitioner's superintendent thought it should be run in view of the condition of tracks and equipment. [Vol. 28] Public Service Commission Maple street, over which the line runs, was paved in 1915-1916, but that portion of the street between the rails and for two feet outside of each rail is not paved. No taxes have been assessed against petitioner for this paving; and the city authorities have no present plan to pave either Church or Center streets. The Opposition to Abandonment. This petition is opposed by the State Normal School, by certain residents protesting against the removal, by the State Department of Education, and by the local board of managers of the State Normal School. The city officials of Oneonta who appeared in person and by the corporation counsel of the city, are neither opposed to, nor in favor of, the abandonment. The attitude of the city government may best be understood from the statement of Mayor Miller: "I came instructed to take a neutral position because the city wishes, of course, to work for the comfort of its citizens entirely and the Common Council takes the position that they care nothing either way as to whether the service is continued or discontinued, but that the matter of keeping the highways in good condition is of most vital importance to us." Those opposed insist that the figures presented by the company as to operating losses on the "Normal line" (the expenses having been prorated with relation to the expenses of all lines of the company) are not fair and do not represent the true facts. Making all allowances, however, for error on the company's part, it is evident that this line has not paid any return for some years, and certainly failed to do so in 1921. Decision in Former Application. The same application has been here before. It was denied by the former Public Service Commission (8 P. S. C. 2d Dist. Rep. 408). The decision was put on ** Public Service Commission [Vol. 28] the ground (headnote): "This Commission can only approve a declaration of abandonment of a portion of a street surface railway when it appears that the portion of the route in question is no longer necessary for the successful operation of the whole route of the company's road and convenience of the public. The financial condition of that portion of the road which it is proposed to abandon is not material *," it appearing at that time that the loss on the "Normal line" was but a small item in the total operation of Company's lines, and after allowing for such loss on the "Normal line" the petitioner still had a balance in its treasury. In that case, for the year 1917, the Commission found the net corporate income available for dividends, after the payment of taxes and interest, was $20,735.71, covering the operation of all lines. And that in 1918 the report of the company showed a similar net corporate income of $6,166.60. Present Operating Results, Company's System. Assuming the reasoning of the former case to have been correct, let us see what the operating results from all of the lines were in 1920 and 1921. [Vol. 28] Public Service Commission This indicates an extremely unsatisfactory result for the entire system to which result the losses on the "Normal line" undoubtedly contributed. Public Convenience. The former Commission also held, referring to the "Normal line: " "If the public does not patronize a road sufficiently to grant the income which the road should earn, such fact is strong, if not conclusive evidence, that the road is not necessary for the convenience of the public." The Oneonta Normal School is one of the leading educational institutions in the State of New York. About 567 students are enrolled at regular sessions and 950 attended the recent summer session. The school has five terms, that is, it opens and closes five times during the year. The principal contention of those opposed to this abandonment was that this line is a necessity because it furnished the only means of public conveyance between the railroad station and the Normal School and that its abandonment would injure and inconvenience those attending the school. Bearing this in mind, and that this petition is opposed by the State Department of Education, by the board of managers of the Normal School; and that the petitions filed contained the names of many persons whose addresses were given as the Normal School; it must be clear that Dr. Percy I. Bugbee, the principal of the Normal School, could certainly not be accused of being prejudiced in favor of the abandonment of this line. In fact he signed the petition protesting against the abandonment. No other witnesses aside from Dr. Bugbee were called by either side, who gave different evidence as to the patronage of this line (unless we consider the signed petitions or the letters of protest as evidence). Let him speak of the patronage of the line, "Q. To |