City of Reading v. United Traction Co.
City of Reading v. United Traction Co.
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
The question before us in Reading v. United Traction Company, 232 Pa. 303, was whether the right of the Reading Transit Company, the successor of the United Traction Company, to discontinue the sale of strip tickets at the rate of six for twenty-five cents, good on all of its lines, had been taken from it by the ordinance of December 8, 1906, and it was held that such right had not been affected by the ordinance. In so holding we said that nothing in the letter from Dr. Rigg to the chairman of the railways committee of the city councils “nor in the ordinance can be construed into an agreement by the United Traction Company to continue the general sale of strip tickets, and its right was,
The United Traction Company was bound by the provisions of the ordinance of December 8, 1906, and its lessee and successor, the Reading Transit Company, is now so bound. That ordinance provides that “the rate of fare shall not exceed five (5) cents for a single fare, or six tickets for twenty-five (25) cents.” These words certainly mean something; but in their breach of good faith with the city of Reading, those in control of the affairs of the Reading Transit Company now assert that they mean nothing. The ordinance related to the Front and Fifth Street and Schuylkill Avenue lines. At the time it was passed the rate of fare on these lines was five cents, or a passenger, at his option, could purchase six tickets for twenty-five cents, each of which gave to him the same transportation rights and privileges as were given by paying a five-cent fare. The negotiations between Dr. Rigg and the chairman of the street railways committee of councils which led to the passage of the ordinance related to the two lines just mentioned, and it is trifling with judicial patience to contend that both parties so negotiating did not under
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.