Newspapers / The Carolina Times (Durham, … / Dec. 4, 1982, edition 1 / Page 16
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16 -THE CAROLINA TIMES SATURDAY, DECEMBER 41982 Duke Power Says Losses Piling Up As Buses, Awaiting , Commission, .Becisiop By Donald Alderman ' Al mml 1 00.000 Deoole ' who rode Durham city buses September a year ago didn't ride buses this past scptemocr, accor ding o a Duke Power transit supervisor, and company bus system losses continue to mount. "We're stilling runn ing in the red as far as operation costs are con cerned," said Charles Brown, 35, supervisor of transit operations for Duke Power. "A good percentage of the losses are as a direct result of the Commission's ruling. We probably will lose more this year than last." Durham's Duke Power Company owns the local bus system, operating it under a fran chise from the city that is tied to the company's franchising to supply electrical services. But the bus system has been losing money for years, and has become an ur-. ban . hot potato ; that ; nobodyi ; including city ' government 'Wants. v.vi Back in February, . : Duke Power cut out night bus service, follow ing approval by the Durham City Council, but a group of citizens sued the company, and the N.C. Utilities Com mission ordered Duke Power to restore night bus service, pending public hearings and a permanent decision by iqe commission. the Utilities Commis sion regulates the sales and services of utilities in North Carolina. And so the question of the quality of Durham's transit system hangs -in the, balance awaiting a decision from the Com- miction ' iexnerterf - - . r - - - .sometime next year. Meanwhile. .. several things are taking place, but it is not clear exactly . how any- of them, will ultimately relate to the ' final resolution of public. transit in this city of slightly more than 100,000 people. Recently, Mayor Charles Markham ap pointed a , 13-member. committee to study the transit question. The committee is composed of representatives from the public, private, and educational sectors, in cluding disabled persons and senior citizens. According to Markham, the commit tee's purpose is to ex amine the city's transit needs and develop methods of meeting those needs. Dr. Tyrone Baines, vice chanoeltbc . for University Relations at NCCU and a member of the mayor's committee, said: "We are studying the whole question of how to promote transit services to the communi ty. We are, looking at. what other .Cities are do ing, haying .transit; . ex perts tp share Iheiryiews with jjs; ?rice we have gathCTedfi information, we'll begin to ask some 6f of questions of how to pro vide the best transit ser vice, arid we expect to make some recommen dations to the city coun cil." It is not clear at this point exactly how long the committee's study will take, or when the council will receive recommendations. attract more riders. But with .about $30,000 of the. budget spent, accor ding to Brown, ridership has' decreased rather than increased. ' v Brown acknowledged that the city needs good transit service, and add ed that at some point the taxpayers and the city v council may have to" decide whether the ser vice should be publicly or privately operated. Duke Power currently operates the only two privately owned transit systems in the state, the one in Durham, and one in Greensboro. Most transit systems services. Therefore, systems are either com pletely eliminated or Duke Power shouldn't severely curtailed. HTiis be allowed to back out of puts Durham between a that agreement. real f rock and a hard Then, of - course, 1 place as far as transit i$:": there's the city whose concerned. position appears to be to On the one side, you provide the mere have Duke Power that minimum bus service, tie for. - , private cars wherever In the middle of all ; they go, or who live in this, - -however,: is a surrounding com seldom mentioned group . munities and drive to that likely holds the key Durham to work, shop, considers . the transit system a municipal albatross. Duke Power, frankly, wants out of this business that loses the company more than $1 million annually. On the other side, you have citizens, many of whom arc : dependent upon the transit system for vital transportation, such as going to - and from work, shopping, hospital whatever people will set- to the success or failure of transit in Durham. These are Durham's drivers, both those who live here and drive play, etc.- According to state transit ' officials,: cities where bus systems have been largely turned around are places wherl a whole new categdry of riders has turned to the buses. t These new riders, in clude people who work' downtown and whofind the bus more convenient and less expensive ihan driving. : -3 ' across me country are, doctor and publicly owned, prin- visits, etc. cipauy oecause passenger fares don't generate enough money to keep the buses running. In re cent years, the federal government has subsidiz ed both the public pur chasing of transit systems, capital costs to improve local system?, and operating deficits. But under the new Reagan administration guidelines, most federal subsidies for transit It was a coalition of groups representing these citizens, called The Durham Citizens Round table Coalition; that fil ed the suit to stop Duke Power from eliminating night bus service. The . citizens group says Duke Power knew the bus system is a losing proposition when the electric company signed a 30-year contract in '1973 to provide transit 7Ji 2 . ..V- m:J t, Y'i : Tax Seminar To Be Held At NCCU Gift To Lincoln The Ladies Auxiliary ot the Gray Club are among concerned community organiza tions contributing to the LincolnConimunity Health Center's building fund. Mrs. Ann Reed, outgoing president (left) presents a $400 check to J.S. Stewart, project chair man, as incoming president, Mrs. Barbara Lassiter observes. Active distaff compo nent of the local retired-military, the ladies realized portions of the gift through conduct of a dance and a football trip. The antagonizing and hectic task of reporting The city's transit staff to Uncle Sam besets us is also gathering infor- once more. .Taxpayers mation, . conducting are once again faced with studies, and will likely the ardous tasks of present -recommenda- wading thorough new tions to the council. It is not clear what type of relationship, if ari$ exists between the mayor's committee-and th transit staff . On another level, Duke power has taken some steps, according to Brown. He says the com pany greatly Increased its tax regulations and triple cTtaJtng the bottom line orweir tax forms. It can be a gruesome experience . f you are a- small business owner! Most owners avoid th is an n ual task by hiring an income tax specialist- to do the job. Although many busiriess owners will not. Todsy's most exciting Christmas gift 1 fa) Jr I transit advertising complete their own tax budget this year to about returns for 1982, it is im- $42,500 in an effort to 1 V t i WW i , By Joe Black PrldentFkUnD.Rooset,in an effort to uplift the morale of Amertcafe -citizens durtngWorld War n, sald;TAfe hav ' nothing to fear but fear ItselTBut nothing stays the same and today those words hav little meaning for many who are approach ing the age for retirement Senior Citizens have many things to lean insufficient funds, robberyilonell- ness, poor housing, inadequate nutritloa and plain orindifference from society. But we should not let it be like that in these United States of America Because through the years the older citizens have worked hard on manyjobs; weathered the storm of bias and hatred; paid taxes to support this nation; fought in wars to preserve democracy; and endured the slams of bias as they struggled to open doors so that , Blacks coming behind them could work at new and better jobs. I And yet many of us stand by silently and watch them struggle to live their remaining years with some dignity and pride. We can help by writing our political representatives and teiling them that 'r . the Social Security laws must be amended K as to be relevant to today's economic Tquirements.We can alert the police about loodlum elements that steal Social ' Security checks, snatch their purses, or . , reak into their homes because they are Id and defenseless. And we can take he time to extend the hand of friendship md a friendly heUovOr an offer to run , in errand. ' The suggestions are simple, eco MmicaL and real and my friends, don't ever brget that the hands of time continue move, and soon they will be you. JseBfack : Vice President The Greyhound Corporation portant that they be' aware of bothktheir own tax obligations as .small . msiness owners and of uiy changes ' in tax egulations that can af fect their businesses: Two evening, sessions - on. "Taxes and Small Business" will be held in the Business Depart- , hientr NCCU. The ses sions will be held on " Monday and Tuesday, December 6 anJ 7 from . 6 p.m. until 9 p'.m each . evening in room .223 of the C.T. Willis Com-' merqe Building on the campus of North ' Carolina Central Univer sity, The C.T, , Willis , Commerce Buidhng is located , on Carrjpus Drive, "Taxes arid Small Business" is sponsored by the National Associa tion of Accountants, North Carolina Central University School of Business, the Durham Business and Profes sional Chain, and the North Carolina Minority Business Development Agency1 The workshops are free of charge. However registration is required. For registration and further information con tact Ms. Andrea Harris, N.C. Department of Commerce, Minority Business Development Agency, 430 . N. Salisbury Street. Raleigh, 27611 or call (919) 733-2712. Essence: Survey Of Women (Continued from Page 12) in '.summarizing the responses. V We have a tradition of overcoming obstacles and winning against the odds. Ap parently we have inter-. , nalizcd these strengths and now know that we ' can skillfully play just about any hand that modern life deals us." We Welcome Your News News about events in your community should be in our office not later than . Monday at 5 p.m. of the week of publication. : We WILL NOT guarantee the return of unsolicited photographs. f n 1 f ml i ni .. 1 ij,-0 f 'J i,V jf' ..n"" 4 iMfmmiiM )(iiti(Mliiiiiii(liiiiMit t ... ' - " . -.'.. -- ' V iniiiitnTiiiitTi rrniiiiiTrmnTfrinrr Phono Just imagine. - We've aptuaHy -stretched the convenience of the telephone. With the FCT200 cordfess, you can make or receive calls from anywhere up to 700 feet away: Now just $159.95 ($60 off). Offer . expires Ded. 31, 1982. (to sMsi: Other gift ideas: 'V :.:,'' Pac-man-Phone The perfect replica of the current rage. Your kids will absolutely eat it up. $64.95. Rip-Phone9 II Watch them flip out over this fun-styled, easy-to-use, ter-: nfic gift for Christmas. $54 95. Solitare! , Ever wished for a phone that could answer cajls, but not : make them? Stop wishing. " ' i J' Here it is. $17.95, . :lSJB3l.iliaRr tndwnwk of BtfyMdwy Mfg. Co.
The Carolina Times (Durham, N.C.)
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Dec. 4, 1982, edition 1
16
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