GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, Hon. THOMAS F. EAGLETON, EXECUTIVE OFFICE, Washington, D.C., May 16, 1969. Chairman, Subcommittee on Fiscal Affairs, Committee on the District of Colum bia, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. MY DEAR Senator EAGLETON: In the course of my presenting the Mayor's statement at the April 29, 1969 hearing held by your Committee on S. 1813 and S. 1814, bills relating to the mass transit bus situation in the District of Columbia, I suggested that the latter bill be amended so as to include labor provisions similar to those in a recently-enacted Maryland statute; grant the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority exclusive right to operate a mass transit but system or systems within the District; vest in the Authority the power of eminent domain; grant to the Commissioner discretionary authority to purchase buses for lease-back to D.C. Transit; and authorize the District to participate in programs available under the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964. Since the hearing was held on S. 1814, representatives of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and the District of Columbia have revised the bill to include therein the changes suggested in the Mayor's statement, with the exception of those relating to the labor provisions and the exclusive right of the Authority to operate a bus system in the District. It appeared to the group revising S. 1814 that the present language of the Compact deals adequately with the matter of labor relations in connection with the acquisition by the Authority of any bus system operating in the District, particularly if, as is the case, the record indicates an intention that the Authority will deal with the employees of any such system in substantially the same manner as is required by the recently-enacted Maryland statute establishing for that State a Metropolitan Transit District and a Metropolitan Transit Authority. As to the Authority's having the exclusive right to operate a bus system in the District, this appears to be the tenor of the legislation. I am, therefore, attaching a revised version of S. 1814, which I recommend be substituted for S. 1814 as introduced and considered at the hearing of April 29. Also, in response to a request made by Mr. Jack Lewis, Staff Counsel of your Committee, I attach a copy of a memrandum from the Director of Highways and Traffic to the Office of the Corporation Counsel, furnishing information concerning the payments made by D.C. Transit to the District for the removal of the tracks remaining in the streets. Sincerely yours, THOMAS W. FLETCHER, Deputy Mayor. A BILL To provide for public ownership of the mass transit bus system operated by D.C. Transit System, Inc.; to authorize interim financial assistance for the company pending public acquisition of its bus transit facilities; and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress Assembled, SHORT TITLE SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as "District of Columbia Transit Act of 1969". STATEMENT OF FINDINGS AND PURPOSES SEC. 2. The Congress finds that (1) an adequate and economically sound transportation system or systems, including bus and rail rapid transit, serving the Washingtan metropolitan area is essential to commerce among the several States, and among such States and the District of Columbia, and to the health, welfare and safety of the public; (2) economies and improvement of service will result from the unification of bus transit and rail transit operations as well as from integration of bus transit facilities within the Washington metropolitan area; (3) the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is a body corporate and politic organized pursuant to Interstate Compact among the States of Maryland and Virginia, and the District of Columbia, with the consent of Congress, to plan, develop, finance and cause to be operated improved transit facilities in the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Zone; (4) an appropriate solution to the current bus transportation problem in the District of Columbia is public ownership and operation of the D.C. Transit System, Inc.; (5) to these ends it is necessary to enact the provisions hereinafter set forth. ACQUISITION OF D.C. TRANSIT SYSTEM, INC. SEC. 3. (a) The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority should initiate negotiations with the ownership of D.C. Transit System, Inc., for acquisition at the earliest practicable date by the Authority of all its capital stock or all its facilities, plant, equipment, real and personal property, of whatever nature whether owned directly or indirectly, used or useful for mass transportation by bus of passengers within the Washington metropolitan area. Any agreement for such acquisition should provide for assumption by the Authority of the obligations of the labor contract or contracts of D.C. Transit System, Inc. and any subsidiary thereof acquired, provided that any labor contract or contracts entered into after July 1, 1969 by any such company shall not be binding upon the Authority unless that agreement shall be approved by the Authority. (b) The franchise to operate a mass transportation of passengers for hire granted to D.C. Transit System, Inc., by the Act of Congress approved July 24, 1956 (70 Stat. 598), is hereby repealed, effective upon the date the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority acquires the transit facilities of D.C. Transit System, Inc. CONSENT TO COMPACT AMENDMENT SEC. 4. (a) The Congress hereby consents to, adopts and enacts for the District of Columbia, amendments to Articles I, XI, XII and XVI of Title III of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Regulation Compact, as amended, for which Congress heretofore has granted its consent (Public Law 86-794, 74 Stat. 1031, as amended by Public Law 87-767, 76 Stat. 764, and Public Law 89-774, 80 Stat. 1324), as follows: 1. Section 1 of Article I is amended by deleting subparagraph (g) and substituting in lieu thereof the following: "(g) "Transit Services' means the transportation of persons and their packages and baggage by means of transit facilities between points within the Zone including sightseeing and charter service and the transportation of newspapers, express and mail between such points, but does not include taxicab service; and" 2. Section 51 of Article XI is amended to read as follows: "51. Any facilities and properties owned or controlled by the Authority may be operated by the Authority or by others pursuant to contract or lease as the Board may determine. All operations of such facilities and properties shall be within the Zone." 3. Section 56 of Article XII is amended by adding the following new paragraph: "(e) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to prohibit the Authority, either directly or through a Contractor, from performing transit service by bus or similar motor vehicle with transit facilities acquired by the Authority from a private transit company, including additions, renewals and replacements of such facilities, or transit facilities acquired pursuant to Section 20 of Article VII." 4. Subsection (a) of Section 82 of Article XVI is amended by deleting the phrase "or by a private transit company," at the end of said subsection, and by inserting in lieu thereof the following: "Whenever such property cannot be acquired by negotiated purchase at a price satisfactory to the Authority". (b) The Commissioner of the District of Columbia is authorized and directed to enter into and execute on behalf of the United States for the District of Columbia amendments, substantially as set forth above, to the Compact with the States of Virginia and Maryland. (c) The consent of Congress is granted upon the condition that, within three years from the date of this enactment, Sections 1, 51, 56 and 82 of Title III of the Compact be amended substantially as set forth in this Section. INTERIM FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE SEC. 5. (a) Until such time as the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority may acquire from D.C. Transit System, Inc., any mass transit bus system or systems owned or controlled by such company, the Commissioner of the District of Columbia is authorized, within the limit of funds appropriated therefor, to contract with the company for the payment to it of such amounts as he may deem appropriate to assist in maintaining reasonable fare levels for residents of the District of Columbia, and to contract with the Authority for the payment to it of the District's share of the cost to the Authority of acquiring buses and other vehicles which may be leased to the company by the Authority. (b) Payments made to D.C. Transit System, Inc., pursuant to this section shall be subject to the following limitations and conditions: (1) In determining the amount of such payments the Commissioner shall seek the advice and recommendations of: (i) the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Commission concerning just and reasonable fares, financing of bus operations, and adequate levels of service to the public; and (ii) the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority concerning the impact of such payments on the proposed rail rapid transit program and upon public ownership contemplated by Section 3 of this Act. (2) The contracts made pursuant to this section shall include such terms and conditions with respect to the financing and operations of D.C. Transit System, Inc., as may be agreed to by the Commissioner of the District of Columbia, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Commission, and D.C. Transit System, Inc. (c) The Commissioner, for the Government of the District of Columbia, is authorized to participate in any program which may be available under the provision of the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964 (78 Stat. 302). (d) The Commissioner of the District of Columbia is authorized to purchase, either from D.C. Transit System, Inc., or from some other company, buses and other vehicles utilized or to be utilized by D.C. Transit System, Inc., in the operation of any mass transit bus system owned or controlled by it, and to lease such buses and other vehicles to D.C. Transit System, Inc., for an annual lease payment which may be less than the current capital cost to the company of owning such buses and other vehicles. The Commissioner is further authorized and directed to transfer ownership of such buses and other vehicles to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority at such time as the Authority may acquire the bus system or systems owned or controlled by D.C. Transit System, Inc., under such terms and conditions as may be agreed to by the Commissioner and the Authority, subject to the provisions of Section 6. (e) As a condition to receiving funds or other benefits under this section, D.C. Transit System, Inc., shall first pay its obligations to employee retirement and health and welfare programs, and shall permit the Comptroller General of the United States or the Commissioner of the District of Columbia, at their request, to have access to all books, records, and papers of the company, and to inspect any facility or any real or personal property of the company. (f) The provisions of this section shall expire on June 30, 1972, or upon acquisition of D.C. Transit System, Inc., by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, whichever is earlier. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SHARE OF ACQUISITION COSTS SEC. 6. The Commissioner of the District of Columbia is authorized to make payments to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority for the District's share of the cost to the Authority of acquiring the mass transit bus system or systems owned or controlled by D.C. Transit System, Inc., as contemplated by Section 3 of this Act. The payment or payments so made shall take into consideration, and be reduced by, the District's expenditures for buses and other vehicles which the District or the Authority, as the case may be, shall have acquired and leased to D.C. Transit System, Inc. APPROPRIATIONS AUTHORIZED SEC. 7. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated from the revenues of the District of Columbia such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of Sections 5 and 6 of this Act. GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, May 14, 1969. Memorandum to: Mr. Robert F. Kneipp, Chief Legislation & Opinions Division, Office of the Corporation Counsel, D.C. In re Request of Senate District Committee for information concerning payment made by D.C. Transit for track removal. This is in response to your memorandum of May 13, 1969, requesting that I furnish pertinent information on the above subject to supplement the testimony of Deputy Mayor Fletcher before the Committee on April 29, 1969. With respect thereto, you are advised as follows: (1) Amount D.C. Transit owes the District for track removal As of April 22, 1969, the D.C. Transit Company was indebted to the Department of Highways and Traffic, D.C. in the amount of $400,308.69 for cover and track removal work at various locations throughout the city. An itemized tabulation of the billings to the Company for this amount is attached as Exhibit No. 1. (2) Efforts made by the District to collect the amounts so owed The attached memorandum of August 24, 1965 outlines the efforts on the part of the Department of Highways and Traffic, D.C. to collect the money owed by the D.C. Transit Company. In addition to what is included in this memorandum, I personally telephoned the late Mr. Morris Fox, Vice President, D.C. Transit Company, on numerous occasions to request payment and to advise him of the seriousness of the situation. In each instance, I was assured of his personal cooperation in bringing his account up-to-date. The above memorandum is attached as Exhibit 2. From August of 1965 to April of 1966, the D.C. Transit Company brought its indebtedness balance to the Department down to the sum of $83,439.00, the lowest it has ever been, but from April, 1966 to July, 1967, this balance increased to the amount of $270,686.00. In July, 1967, as a result of continued prodding by officials of the Department of Highways and Traffic, the D.C. Transit Company agreed to make regular monthly payments of $30,000.00 each in order to reduce the money owed the District. Seven (7) such payments were received, and by August, 1967, the Company's balance was reduced to $230,553.00. In March, 1968, officials of the D.C. Transit Company advised the Department of Highways and Traffic that they could no longer meet the agreed to $30,000.00 per month payment, and that due to a lack of funds on the part of the Company, this monthly payment would have to be reduced to $15,000.00. Only one $15,000.00 payment was made under this arrangement, and by August, 1968, the D.C. Transit Company still owed the Department of Highways and Traffic the sum of $289,478.00. During the winter season of 1967-68 and 1968-69, the District of Columbia owed the D.C. Transit Company the sum of $70,610.81, representing the cost involved in snow removal work performed by said Company for the District Government. In an attempt to recover some of the money owed the Department of Highways and Traffic by the Company for track removal and cover work, the Department applied this $70,610.81 as a credit against the indebtedness balance on the part of the D.C. Transit Company. (3) Such reason as the District may have for not charging D.C. Transit interest on the amount of money the company owes the District for such period of time as it has not been paid to the District With respect to the above question, I can only state that insofar as I know, there is no apparent provision contained in Public Law 77-148 (D.C. Appropriation Act of 1942) or in Public Law 84-757 (D.C. Transit System, Inc. Franchise Act) which provides for the payment of such interest by the D.C. Transit Company. (4) Whether, during such period of time as D.C. Transit owed the District money for track removal, it was necessary for the District to borrow from the Treasury money for highway fund purposes; and, if so, the rate of interest charged the District by the Treasury The answer to the above question is YES. Partially as a result of failure on the part of the D.C. Transit Company to keep its bills on a current basis, and in order for the Department to meet its cash expenditures, it was necessary that the following amounts, at the indicated interest rates, be borrowed from the Treasury: In the foregoing answers, I have attempted to provide only the basic facts without detailing, in chronological order, each and every billing by the Department or payment by the Company. All items of work for which the D.C. Transit Company has been billed were performed in the overall public interest, and the track removal and cover work has greatly assisted in providing a good, smooth riding surface on many of the streets throughout the city. T. F. AIRIS, Director, Department of Highways and Traffic, D.C. [Exhibit No. 1] ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE, D.C. TRANSIT-BILLED, UNPAID (APR. 22, 1969) |