CHRISSIE HYNDE - HYNDE BACKS PUBLIC TRANSPORT CAMPAIGN

American rocker CHRISSIE HYNDE has joined forces with Ohio residents and taken a ride on a city bus to pledge her support for a public transport tax increase. The Pretenders frontwoman travelled to downtown Akron, Ohio, on a city bus with hundreds of other campaigners carrying Metro Regional Transit Authority (RTA) banners promoting a tax hike. The Metro RTA is planning a permanent 0.25 per cent sales tax increase in a bid to claw in around $18 million (GBP9 million) in additional funding. Officials say all weekend buses and a curb-to-curb service, which helps the disabled and elderly, would be cut without the extra money. And Hynde has thrown her celebrity status behind the move. She says, "If you feel you have to have a car, you feel trapped. You forget what it is to walk and enjoy the city." The proposals will be put to ballot on 4 March (08).