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Our View
Passing the buck
The Rappahannock County Board of Supervisors
failed to approve the continued funding of The
Rappahannock Express bus last week after looking at the ridership in the last five and a half months.
Supporters of the bus feel the supervisors should have given it more time, a year, to let it catch on here.
The Express is a public bus under the auspices of the same non-profit organization that runs Greyhound. It is a small bus, similar to the ones in Fauquier, Culpeper, Loudoun, Clarke and Greene counties. Front Royal and Shenandoah County are . working toward obtaining the same service.
The bus is funded through federal and state grants amounting to 75 percent of the total cost. The county is expected to fund the other 25 percent. The county's total cost comes to about $8 per hour. This covers everything: drivers, buses, maintenance, fuel, insurance and dispatchers.
Over 963 residents of our county are over 65, some cannot drive, many would prefer not to if given a choice. There are many "challenged people" in the community needing transportation to Warrenton and Culpeper since our Family Guidance office closed on Dec. 20. Many others used the facility for medications and now must endure the difficulty of traveling long distances, asking for rides or favors.
We hear complaints all the time about "how the young and the old are being forced out of the county." We have no facilities to help the elderly remain in their Rappahannock homes. There is no shopping, physical therapy or regular entertainment. It is difficult to find a ride to visit a friend in the hospital. Many have no family left to provide these services for them.
We grow independent people out here in the country, yet we take independence away by denying simple things like an inexpensive transportation system around the county or to and from Warrenton and Culpeper.
What happens now to those who are in need of this transportation? The suggestion by one supervisor that the churches here should be taking care of those who need a ride sounds like someone is passing the buck.
Only one supervisor, Roger Welch, dissented when the vote was made to discontinue the bus service. Why? He said this issue is about helping people.
We urge others on the Board of Supervisors to reconsider their decision or be more responsive in finding a way to help the needy and the elderly in the county.
Letters to the editor
The Rappahannock News welcomes Letters to the Editor from its
readers as a forum for discussion of local public affairs subjects.
WRITE: Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 59, Washington, Va. 22747
EMAIL: makuhn@timespapers.com
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