Keith R. Cameron: Buses more senior-friendly
Rep. Paul Leubke should have read the Durham and Orange County sales tax law more carefully.
According to the Sept. 24 news article “N.C. light-rail cap draws attacks,” he said, “Durham and Orange County voters endorsed light rail when they levied a local half-cent sales tax to help pay for it.” That is incorrect. The tax was specified only for transportation improvements, and said nothing about light rail.
Buses are transportation, too, and a far more efficient use of tax money than any permanently-fixed rail line; their routes can be changed very quickly as needs change, whereas a rail line’s cannot.
Buses are senior-friendly and can service the entire Durham-Orange area; the Durham-Orange light rail could not even help seniors get to a grocery store.
The rail line would likely use more than the funds allocated for “transportation improvements,” therefore, where will money come from to assist with the transportation needs of our aging population?
Keith R. Cameron
Chapel Hill
This story was originally published October 3, 2015 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Keith R. Cameron: Buses more senior-friendly."