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Antique automobile show draws crowd for cars and more

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Oxford Street Bridge repairs set to begin in July

<p>We think Paul Simon said it best.</p><p>&#8220;Just get on the bus, Gus. Don&#8217;t need to discuss much.&#8221;</p><p>Of course, Simon was singing &#8220;50 Ways to Leave Your Lover&#8221; when he said those famous lines, not offering transportation advice.</p><p>But for residents of Luzerne County, he hit the nail right on the head, so to speak.</p><p>The Luzerne County Transportation Authority has come a long way since the days of the ghost rider scandal.</p><p>The buses run on an incredibly efficient schedule and reach just about any place &#8212; just about &#8211; you would want to go in the Luzerne County.</p><p>Don&#8217;t believe us, and don&#8217;t want to take Paul Simon&#8217;s word for it? Then listen to Melissa McCormick, a bus rider, who newsroom intern Cabrini Rudnicki chatted with on Thursday.</p><p>&#8220;I have a license. But the reason I don&#8217;t drive is because public transportation gets you where you need to go, and it&#8217;s much easier,&#8221; McCormick said.</p><p>Wilkes-Barre City Councilman Tony Brooks agreed.</p><p>&#8220;What&#8217;s great is that all public transportation comes down to downtown Wilkes-Barre,&#8221; Brooks said. &#8220;We just had a report on what the No. 1 thing people do in Wilkes-Barre, and it is eat at restaurants. We have 40 different restaurants here.&#8221;</p><p>Both McCormick and Brooks were at the James F. Conahan Intermodal Transportation Center in Wilkes-Barre for the 13th annual Dump the Pump Day.</p><p>The day featured free bus rides for anyone who wanted to take advantage of public transportation.</p><p>We hope you took advantage of the day to get acquainted with the LCTA, its buses and routes. If not, spend the $1.75 fare and take a ride one day.</p><p>There are an abundance of reasons to do it, such as the every-rising price of gas.</p><p>Sure, there are some things the LCTA could do better.</p><p>We would love to see the buses run later in the evening and service more areas in our industrial parks for people working second and third shifts.</p><p>But even with those shortcomings, we are still pretty lucky to have as efficient public transportation system as we do.</p><p>So do as Mr. Simon says, and just get on the bus. </p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Riders get off a bus at the James F. Conahan Intermodal Transportation Center in Wilkes-Barre during Dump the Pump Day last week. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/web1_TTL062218buses4-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Riders get off a bus at the James F. Conahan Intermodal Transportation Center in Wilkes-Barre during Dump the Pump Day last week. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>

Our view: No reason not to hop on the bus