FAYETTEVILLE — Cumberland Countyresidents could finally get a metro bus line once city and county leaders figure out how to pay for it.

Hundreds of Cumberland County residents ride the buses every day. If you ask them how much routes outside the city limits are needed, they will tell you the routes are essential.

Just ask Ben Uzomba. "I remember when I used to live in Spring Lake and I would have to walk maybe about four or five miles just to go get to a bus line that would run in Fayetteville," Uzomba says.

Sean Sullivan agrees. "There're more people out at Spring Lake, Fort Bragg and [the] Hope Mills area that need to ride the bus," Sullivan says. "They have no other transportation; taxicabs are pretty expensive."

Except for a handful of experimental routes, all the current lines are inside the city limits ofFayetteville, which means thousands of Cumberland County residents who may need to ride a bus do not have that option.

The reason is financial. Right now, state and federal money combine with Fayetteville funds to pay for the city routes. A local transportation committee has said the money for a metro route would have to come from the county and other cities, or a half-cent sales tax.

The city-county liaison committee is expected to consider the funding options.