Fares Hearing Set For Today

Hearings on a bill which would charge half fares for commuting students will be held at 10:15 a.m. today in the State House. More than 600 students here would be directly affected if the bill, presented by Belden G. Bly of Saugus, passes.

The Committee on Transportation will conduct the session; if this committee should vote down the petition, it them stands little chance of passing the full House.

Jack L. Whittaker '50, Chairman of the Commuters' Center House Committee, said yesterday that he will attend the hearing with several members of the Center to speak in behalf of the measure.

Other colleges in Greater Boston plan to send large delegations. One college, the Boston University School of Public Relations, will permit students to miss classes to attend.

Specifically, the bill, House 416, provides that tickets be sold to commuting students at half the price of the regular fare. The tickets would be good only while the college is in session.

Last year, an identical bill ran into much opposition and political maneuvering. The Committee on Transportation first gave it an unfavorable report.

Then the House of Representatives defeated it. However, the State Senate refused to go along with either the Committee or the House and recommended that the bill be returned to the House for further study. When the bill was returned to the House, it was pigeonholed to prevent further discussion.