It was Peter Witt...
Peter Witt
Mr. Peter Witt was the president of the Cincinatti transit company in the
1910's. During this era, the most common way to board a trolley car was to
pay as you enter*. At times when large numbers of people wanted to board
the trolley, a line would form at the door of the trolley as people waited to pay
their fare. The trolley car could not move until all people boarded. Therefore at
busy times, it was difficult for the crew to maintain the schedule.
Mr. Witt came up with the idea of a trolley designed so that people could
board the car immediately and pay their fare later. The conductor was
positioned in the center of the car, just in front of center exit doors. So, when
people boarded through the front door, they could take a seat in the front
section of the car and pay when they exited the car, or they could pay their
fare first and then sit in the rear until their stop. This patented car design
became known as the "Peter Witt" trolley and was very popular in cities which
needed crowd-swallowing trolleys.