The Coral Gables Times

Thursday, April 20, 1961, page 7 (of 24)

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He'd Keep Metro Out Chester Smith, City's Bus System Are Reaching Corner at Same Time

In a way it is ironic that Chester Smith and the Coral Gables bus system he directs should be at the crossroads. Smith, who has served as director of transportation for nearly 22 years must, in the next two weeks, decide whether to continue in that post or retire. And the City of Coral Gables must decide soon whether to turn over its transit system to Metro or continue independent operation. If Smith decides to retire, and chances are that he will, following two serious illnesses, the 59-year-old Kentuckian will end 34 years of service with the city. SINCE BEGINNING That service extends to the very beginning of Coral Gables when he joined the municipal bus system after driving buses for two years for the Coral Gables Corp. That system was a far cry from the elaborate setup which exists today. "There were only two routes then," Smith said. "The Biltmore route south of Coral Way and the Granada route north of Coral Way." TROLLEY FROM MIAMI A trolley line from Miami came up Coral Way, took a sharp right turn at Ponce de Leon Boulevard and ended at Flagler Street. "I was always afraid of electricity," said Smith. So he never had the thrill of conducting one of the old trolleys. Things chugged along smoothly for bus driver Smith until 1935 when former city manager A. B. Curry called him in one day and told him, "Chester, it's your baby." "It was a thrill of course to be elevated to head of the department, but on the other hand it entailed a lot of responsibility," Smith recalled. One of his biggest headaches through all those nearly two dozen years has been accidents and damage claims. This has meant long hours studying accidents and testifying before the courts. FINE RECORD "I think its possible that we have one of the finest records in the country for cities of comparable size," Smith said proudly. But accidents are inevitable. There have been two fatal-ities. Recently three accidents occurred in an 11-day period. "Nothing is supposed to happen to us," said the outspoken Smith, recalling the criticism that fell on him. Back in September he had to have a serious stomach operation. He was still recuperating from that when he was stricken with a heart attack eight weeks ago. PONDERS DECISION Now he lounges around the home he had built in 1941 at 832 Granada Grove Court pondering whether to go back to work or accept at least partial retirement. His wife, Edith, who came to the Gables from Virginia the same year as he did, is scheduled for retirement in June from Coral Gables Federal Savings and Loan Association where she is assistant secretary and head of the insurance department. If Smith decides on retirement, still another chapter on the Gables transportation system may close right behind if the city sells out to Metro. HE'S AGAINST IT "I'm against it," Smith said with conviction. "When you've got something that's good, why experiment with it." Smith said he did not doubt that an overall system would be to the county's benefit, but Coral Gables would be the loser. "We're willing to take a loss," he said. He doubts that Metro would. The loss was estimated at $60,000 for this year and $45,000 last year by Finance Director Kenneth Allyn. This includes cost of vehicle replacement. And the Gables would undoubtedly lose its sweeter-smelling gas-powered buses, Smith indicated. "But," Smith concluded, "I have no ax to grind." If Metro could provide the same school bus service and not cut routes he would not seriously oppose it.

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We Even Have Less Odor Bus Story: Give Service, Lose $$

By MAURICE LABELLE Times Staffer Why is the Coral Gables municipal bus system operating at an annual loss, estimated at $60,000 by Finance Director Kenneth Allyn? This represents a .6 mill loss to taxpayers. There are three main reasons the $500,000-plus operation is losing money: 1. Operating on a public service basis and not as a profit-making corporation, the system has many routes that lose money. 2. The number of passengers has constantly decreased. 3. It costs slightly more to operate the gas-powered buses than it would diesel-driven vehicles. The school bus system, with its 10-cent half fare, would be a loser also if operated as an independent system. However, it has proved a money maker for the city, according to Allyn and Transportation Director Chester Smith. School bus routes, equipment and personnel are all worked into the regular system with a minimum of expense and the buses carry a much larger number of fares per trip, Smith pointed out. NUMBER UP The number of school fares has also risen steadily, Allyn points out. This year, school buses will carry an estimated 709,544 pupils — 130,000 more than were carried in 1955. "We're not bound to say our system has to be self sufficient," said Smith. The loss could be minimized or ended simply by cutting off non-paying routes, he explained, but he doubted that the bus riding public would stand for it. A total of 10 local routes — the Miami run and the school bus operation considered one route — make up the 46-bus system. The other part of the loss, incurred through use of gasoline rather than diesel fuel is estimated at approximately $1,000. ODORLESS COSTS "I never wanted diesel equipment," Smith said, "It has always been strictly based on the matter of fumes." Diesels burn a cruder petroleum and leave a more offensive exhaust although they are a bit cheaper to maintain. But the transportation director said it is getting increasingly difficult to obtain gasoline-powered buses. The possibility looms that they may have to be abandoned, he said. Truman Smith automotive maintenance director, and Finance Director Kenneth Allyn, both pointed out that the cost differential between gas and diesel is closing. At the present time the difference is very slight. The high level of maintenance and efficiency of operation with gas buses, coupled with the good price obtained on the 300,000 gallons of gas used by the city, resulted in great savings, Truman Smith said. COMPARE PRICES The city is paying 18.35 cents per gallon of gas and would have to pay approximately 18 cents for diesel, he said. "I doubt we could do better than that with diesel fuel," Truman Smith said. What have been the losses over the past several years? Metro engineers recently completed a survey of the system after the county sought a unified system. Here are their figures, which Finance Director Allyn termed "realistic." Year | Loss 1952 | $30,956 1953 | 32,758 1954 | 64,522 1955 | 38,495 1956 | 31,318 1957 | 47,256 1958 | 70,648 1959 | 63,698 1960 | 44,236 1961 | $60,000 (est.) These figures for the same period show how, although the population has gone up, fewer persons are riding buses. Part of the drop resulted from cutting off routes, according to Allyn: Year | Passengers 1952 | 3,387,523 1953 | 3,509,129 1954 | 3,477,445 1955 | 3,289,393 1956 | 3,099,830 1957 | 3,108,823 1958 | 2,793,992 1959 | 2,751,092 1960 | 2,751,092 1961 | 2,674,703 (est.)

Fire Bell

Here, from the city's official records, are calls answered by the emergency squad of the city's fire and police departments: April 10 — 1048 Malaga Ave., false alarm; 4500 Monserrate St., heart attack, Matilda W. Bourneau. April 11 — 5870 S.W. 20th St. (Home), man hit by auto, Ben Cox. April 12 — Galiano & Andalusia, man hit auto on bicycle, Joe Meley; 500 Alcazar Ave., boy on bike hit by auto, Clark Songer; 62 Miracle Mile, auto leaking gas; 2000 Ponce de Leon Blvd., man D.O.A. on sidewalk. April 13 — 423 Majorca Ave., woman bleeding, Dare Johnston; 439 Hardee Road, grass fire; 222 Calabria Ave., Apt. No. 2, child having convulsions, Alberto Salazar; 601 San Antonio Ave., girl hit by car, Barbara Soniuro, 9. April 14 — 1020 Castile Ave., heart attack, D.O.A., Roy D. Budd; Coral Way & Granada Blvd., car accident, Billie Wayne Carmichael; Altara Ave. & Laguna St., crossfles on fire. April 15 — Minorca & Alhambra, grass fire; Cadima & LeJeune, flare pots overturned; 6815 Tordera St., broken plumbing; 1618 Cortez St., lodged fish hook in back, James Bell; 920 Almeria St., crippled man fell and needed help, Jacob Alhud. April 16 — 384 Minorca Ave., oven fire. 8345 Ponce de Leon Blvd., heart attack, L. L. Menges; 226 San Sebastian, electric wires in palm tree arcing.

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