End of the Honeymoon

When he won control of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad 14 months ago, blarney-loving Patrick McGinnis was full of love for his commuter customers. The New Haven is one of the biggest commuter railroads in the U.S., serves the eastern shore of suburban Westchester County and lower Connecticut.

McGinnis canceled the ousted management's ICC application for 33 1/3% commuter's rate hike, crying: "You don't gain riders by raising the fare." He sent teams scouring the parkways to ascertain how many commuters motored to work, announced: "We've got to take the commuter off rubber and put him on rails." He deluged his patrons with questionnaires ("I would deeply appreciate your help") and some 80 promises (lower fares, fares hitched to the cost-of-living index, more and better station parking, modern glass-fiber stations, swifter rolling stock, improved parking lots).

Dazzled by all the promises, the 35,000 commuters were induced to put up with the New Haven's worsening service and late trains while they waited for the dawn of the brighter tomorrow.

Last week the first great "improvement" came. The railroad will soon begin charging commuters about $5.50 monthly to park their cars at a number of stations, starting at Norwalk, Conn. In effect, this meant a concealed fare hike of nearly 25% for many riders.

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