The Dow Constantine Council has decided to pit vehicle owners against bus riders by asking for a $60 license tab fee. Perhaps the assumption of the council is that the poor unfortunate folks ride buses while the rich drive cars.

In reality there are many people working at relatively low paying jobs that need a vehicle to stay employed. A vehicle driver purchases a car, makes payments to a bank, pays insurance premiums, pays for vehicle repairs, pays highway fuel tax and often pays highway tolls. Why would the Constantine Council want to kill the very goose that lays the government revenue eggs?

In a somewhat rational non political world, public buses would sustain their operational costs through bus fares and good management. Why should people owning vehicles be expected to carry the cost of those that ride the bus?

Oh I know, the Constantine Council will whine about the need for better county roads and that vehicle owners need to pay the cost. So, what do buses drive on? Buses should sustain their own operational costs through good management and necessary fares. Roads should be paid for through excise taxes that both vehicle owners and bus riders share equally.

Dave Condon, Kirkland