Editing Dual Contracts (section)

==Background==
In the late 19th century and for most of the 20th century, New York was host to millions of immigrants each year. Many of the immigrants crowded into tenements and other apartment buildings in the inner city. This resulted in overpopulation of the buildings, and congestion of city streets. [[Manhattan]]'s population had risen from 516,000 people in 1850 to 2.33 million people in 1910.{{sfn|Derrick|2001|p=2}} The population of the entire city had grown from  1.17 million people in 1860 to 3.44 million in 1900 and 4.77 million in 1910.<ref name="NYTimes-618Miles-1913"/> Living in Manhattan was becoming a hazard due to the higher probability of crime and overcrowding, and for the most part, [[Early history of the IRT subway|the first subway line]] only served areas that were already developed.{{sfn|Derrick|2001|p=2–3}} The first subway lines to the outer boroughs were planned during the early 20th century.{{sfn|Derrick|2001|p=265}} Dispersion resulted in the expansion and development of the boroughs.

In 1906, [[Charles Evans Hughes]] was elected as the governor of New York, and the next year, he created the [[New York State Public Service Commission]] (PSC). The PSC was responsible for new rapid transit lines in New York City. Although the PSC had created ambitious plans for the expansion of the city's subway system, they only had $200 million on hand.{{sfn|Derrick|2001|p=4–5}} In 1911, [[George McAneny]] was appointed leader of the Transit Committee of the [[New York City Board of Estimate]], which oversaw the subway expansion plans.{{sfn|Derrick|2001|p=6}}

Some opposed the Dual Contracts as they thought that the company owners and city officials were just looking for another way to produce personal revenue.{{sfn|Derrick|2001|p=6}} Reformists like Hughes and McAneny would not have it any other way than to see the expansion of the city and the subway. They wanted to see the inner city become less populated and spread the people to the outer boroughs of the city. They planned to expand the city and disperse the people by building subway lines which would hopefully result in new homes being built near the subway lines and the areas surrounding. This would lower population densities in the city and also made as a good reason to help prove the subway expansion as necessary.

===Crowding===
Before the Contracts, there was crowding in many of the forms of transportation in the city. The following is a list of annual ridership for each mode of transportation between June 30, 1910, and June 30, 1911:

*Interborough Rapid Transit Company–subways, elevated roads — 578,154,088
*[[Hudson and Manhattan Railroad]] — 52,756,434
*Brooklyn Union Elevated Railroad System — 167,371,328
*East River ferries — 23,460,000
*Municipal ferry to Staten Island — 10,540,000
*Hudson River ferries — 91,776,200

In total, 924,058,050 passengers were carried that year over these six modes of transport.<ref name="nycsubway dual">{{cite web| website=nycsubway.org| url=http://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/The_Dual_System_of_Rapid_Transit_(1912)| title=The Dual System of Rapid Transit (1912)}}</ref>

''The New York Times'' noted that streetcar ridership had increased more than 25 times over between 1860, where there were 50.83 million annual riders, and 1910, where there were 1.531 billion annual riders.<ref name="NYTimes-618Miles-1913"/>

===Planned effects===
It was expected that, within five years of completion:

<blockquote>When completed, the rapid transit facilities of the City will have been more than trebled. During the year ended June 30, 1911, shortly after which the construction of the new system was begun, the existing rapid transit lines carried 798,281,850 passengers. The new Dual System will have a capacity of upwards of [3 billion], although it is not expected that such capacity will be demanded immediately upon the completion of the system.

The combined trackage of the existing lines (including 7.1 miles of the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad) amounts to 303 miles of single track. To this will be added by the new lines of the Dual System 334 miles of single track, making a new system with 637 miles of single track. What this will mean to the City may be appreciated by considering how the existing lines will be amplified by the new additions and extensions. The Hudson and Manhattan road, however, is not to be a part of the Dual System.<ref name="nycsubway dual"/></blockquote>

This system expansion was expected to be as big as, if not bigger, than the proposed [[IND Second System|Second System expansion]] put forth by the [[Independent Subway System]] in 1929 and 1939.