A sold-out Hurricane Katrina bus tour, promising passengers a look at some of the city’s most misery-stricken spots, was to make its inaugural run on Wednesday morning.
For $35 per person, $28 for children, passengers were told the bus would take them past the Superdome, the Convention Centre and neighbourhoods damaged by Katrina and the subsequent flooding.
When the initial tour sold out, Gray Line New Orleans decided to add another bus. But residents have been at odds over whether the tours are crass and morbid exploitation, or a good way to help people grasp the enormity of the disaster.
The three-hour tours, called ”Hurricane Katrina: America’s Worst Catastrophe”, will start at the edge of the French Quarter, then drive past the Superdome and Convention Centre, where thousands suffered in the heat for days without food or water.
The company has said it will give $3 per ticket to Katrina-related charities. — Sapa-AP