Red Hatters venture out on city buses

Oct 30, 2009 (The Fayetteville Observer - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- RHT | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- On the eve of Halloween, nine women wearing big, silky red or pink hats and purple outfits boarded a Fayetteville bus to take an adventure to the mall.

The group belongs to a local Red Hat Society chapter -- a social club whose members like to eat out, go to shows and travel during their golden years.

For eight of the nine in the group, Friday was their first time taking a modern city bus. They encountered the usual stares with their fancy attire, but they didn't care. They were on a mission, as well as another outing on the town with laughter and fellowship.

Their leader, Tonie Neal -- who goes by the title "Queen Mother" in Red Hat Society circles -- said several of those in the group anticipate losing their driving privileges in the coming years, and they will need another way to get around.

At age 68, Neal said, she hopes to keep driving for another 10 years. But she could always have a stroke or illness, she said.

"We have lots of women in our church who don't drive, and we are having to pick up the slack," she said.

At 73, Jacque Yacobucci said she was the eldest in the group. "I don't know how to ride the bus, and I don't want to do it by myself for the first time," she said.

The women boarded one of the city's newer buses -- a maroon and gray model with comfy heat inside -- at the downtown transfer station. They took a 46-minute trip to Cross Creek Mall. Along they way, the bus made stops at a busy Fayetteville Technical Community College campus and a crowded Eutaw Shopping Center.

Inside the bus, an automated voice that intoned, "Stop requested," caught Yacobucci off guard. Then she noticed the yellow rope that passengers tugged when they wanted off.

"Oh, that's what it says when you pull that little thingy," she said.

The bus, which seats 32, remained full during their trip to the mall. Some passengers stood, leaning on a pole.

"I had no idea there would be that many," said Margie Hendrix, one of the chapter members.

Bus ridership rose last year when gas prices soared. It's a trend city officials want to continue as they pour more money into newer vehicles, longer routes and later hours. In just two years, the City Council has increased spending on the Fayetteville Area System of Transit by 30 percent, to $6.1 million annually.

More demand could come from growth spawned by base realignment and closure in two years and the aging baby-boomer population. According to demographers with the N.C. Division of Aging and Adult Services, 7.4 percent of Cumberland County's population was over 65 in 1996; by 2020, that figure is estimated to rise to 12.6 percent.

At age 50, members of the Red Hat Society can wear red hats on their social outings. Those under 50 wear pink and lavender hats. Neal reversed things a bit after she celebrated a birthday this month: she wore a purple hat with a red outfit. She leads the Never Saw It Coming Red Hat Society chapter.

Ruth Ann Barker, a club member, said she wanted to ride a bus as part of a bucket list of things to do in her life. Her 35-year-old daughter didn't want her to ride a city bus. She worried for her mother's safety, Barker said.

"I'm fine," Barker said. "Everybody is having a good time."

As she spoke, the bus drove past her neighborhood, Cumberland Heights, behind Eutaw Shopping Center.

"I didn't know how close it came," she said.

The club members ate at the mall, then took another bus to the city's western reaches before returning to the mall for a transfer stop. Their bus adventure ended back downtown.

Many said they would ride the bus again.

"It was absolutely wonderful," Yacobucci said. "I would feel comfortable riding the bus any time. It's not like I perceived it to be after all."

Staff writer Andrew Barksdale can be reached at barksdalea@fayobserver.com or 486-3565.

To see more of The Fayetteville Observer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go
to http://www.fayettevillenc.com/. Copyright (c) 2009, The Fayetteville
Observer, N.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For
reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or
847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group
Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

More News:   Market Updates | Stock Alerts | All Trading News | Stock Index