Why Amtrak will help get Columbus back on track
Why Amtrak will be so great for Columbus
The idea to reconnect Columbus to Amtrak and expand Amtrak in other parts of Ohio is long overdue, but not for the reason that it would create a few hundred jobs.
Job creation is good, but the real reason the plan should be done, and why subsidies for it are justified, is that it will substantially reduce air pollution in Ohio.
Rail is fundamentally more fuel efficient than traveling by bus, car or plane. It is an environmentally friendly choice that does not require cancelling travel plans or reducing their quality.
More:Amtrak would change the game for Ohio. Here's why.
Rail travel is actually a far higher quality experience than using cars, buses or planes.
It is much more comfortable than those other forms of travel, and with WiFi the time on a train can be used very productively by modern professionals. Columbus was an Amtrak city until 1979, and almost every other major U.S. city is on Amtrak now.
Columbus is by far America's largest city with no form of rail service, and this is not a harmless eccentricity. It is an eccentricity that reduces our travel quality and pollutes our skies. Fortunately, when it comes to this harmful eccentricity, we can plausibly get Columbus back on track.
Jordan Smith, Columbus
Riders want to tap and go
Re "COTA marks 50 years of public transportation," Jan. 29. Thank you for recognizing the hard-working employees that make public transportation possible every day in our community.
Residents also deserve a hand for supporting the tax levy that makes bus routes available and accessible.
More:COTA, marking its 50th anniversary, plans major improvements -- and a sales tax increase
This rider and reader writes with a simple request; can 2024 be the year when COTA makes bus rides available to everyone with the basic tap and go system. Chicago has had this for years and the system has been implemented in New York City.
Visitors and infrequent riders don’t want to download an app and provide information. COTA will benefit from increased ridership and broader support.
Carl Faller, Columbus
What do you think?How to submit a letter to the editor for The Columbus Dispatch
Seniors deserve a solution
I’m writing as a senior property owner.
After just paying my much-increased property tax bill, I’m recalling quite a number of articles last year in the Dispatch regarding assisting senior homeowners with escalating property taxes by the state legislature. Nothing happened.
According to a recent letter to the editor by Roger Lester of Copley, there is a committee dedicated to this in 2024.
The letter indicated that this committee would work on the issue for the entire year. My guess is that, again, nothing will happen. Something needs to be accomplished.
To me the simple solution is the best.
Allow a “to be determined” discount percentage of your annual property tax bill deducted from both state and federal income taxes. This could be a set or adjustable percentage depending on age. All that needs to be done is submitting a copy of your current property tax bill to your returns regardless of if you itemize deductions or not. It’s not complicated and can be quickly implemented.
Put politics aside for the moment and solve the issue. According to Mike Stinziano’s office, Ohio is not known to be a very friendly state to seniors. This could be a beginning.
Dan Kauffman, Dublin