The Ohmer fare register was, in various models, a mechanical device for registering and recording the fares of passengers on

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport a ...

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

es and

taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choic ...

s in the early 20th century. It was invented and improved by members and employees of the Ohmer family of Dayton, Ohio, especially John F. Ohmer who founded the Ohmer Fare Register Company in 1898, and his brother Wilfred I. Ohmer of the Recording and Computing Machines Company of

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater D ...

. This latter company employed up to 9,000 people at one time and was a major manufacturer of precision equipment during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. It was subsequently renamed the Ohmer Corporation and in 1949, acquired by Rockwell Manufacturing Company. Fare registers on city buses were replaced by fare boxes by the middle of the 20th century, and today by ticket or card machines. Ohmer fare registers can be found in use and on display at trolley museums throughout the U.S. A station on the

Sacramento Northern The Sacramento Northern Railway (reporting mark SN) was a electric interurban railway that connected Chico in northern California with Oakland via the California capital, Sacramento. In its operation it ran directly on the streets of Oaklan ...

line through

Concord, California Concord ( ) is the largest city in Contra Costa County, California. According to an estimate completed by the United States Census Bureau, the city had a population of 129,295 in 2019 making it the eighth largest city in the San Francisco Bay ...

, was called "Ohmer", named for the Ohmer company and its fare register. The site is now occupied by the

North Concord/Martinez Station North Concord/Martinez station is a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station located in the Sun Terrace neighborhood of Concord, California. The station serves the northern area of Concord and nearby Martinez. It is located near State Route 4. ...

of the Bay Area Rapid Transit system.

References

US Patent No. 764494, issued July 5, 1904

External links

{{commonscatinline * ttps://www.nytimes.com/1938/11/05/archives/john-f-ohmer-82-register-inventor-president-and-founder-of-the-firm.html NY Times Obituary Nov.5, 1938, John F. Ohmer Fare collection systems Measuring instruments Tram technology

See also

References

External links