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ENLARGE
Just try to imagine the Roaring Fork Valley working without RFTA. Think about that 60-mile string of towns and crossings from Rifle to Aspen with no public transportation. You think traffic is bad now, just imagine it without the excellent service of the Roaring Fork Transit Authority.
RFTA is near and dear to my heart, mainly because the convenient stops are near my Roaring Fork Valley occasional home in Blue Lake and pretty much everywhere I need to go from there. The buses are clean, they run on time and the drivers are courteous professionals. What's not to love?
A recent article in the Snowmass Sun (written by Aspen Times reporter Scott Condon) suggested that with RFTA's recent fare hike, it was now more economical to drive. The article compared the cost of gas to the cost of bus fares.
As an on-line comment quickly pointed out, cars, tires, insurance, registration fees and repairs are not free. Factoring in the total cost of driving (which the IRS allows at about 54 cents per mile), the true cost of the round-trip commute from El Jebel to Aspen is close to $20 per day, far more than the $7.50 bus fare.
Gas literally ain't the half of it.
I was disappointed to see the article exhibit the short-term, incomplete thinking that only factored in current week's expenses (filling up the tank) and ignored longer term factors ($500 insurance bill, $800 repair, dirtier air). This discussion struck me as a metaphor for the same “only count the fast money” mentality that seems to have dominated Roaring Ford Valley planning for far too long. In case you hadn't noticed, it's not working so good.
RFTA, on the other hand, appears to be working very well. The recent fare increases were long overdue. It is still an outstanding bargain.
Besides getting to and from work and friends' homes, here's what I get for my RFTA ridership.
I sleep better. As the snow piles up outside my Blue Lake bedroom, I do not worry a bit about the drive to work the next day. I know I will be boarding a nice warm bus with a driver who knows how to handle icy mountain roads.
I keep one more car out of a dense neighborhood. Because the bus is so convenient and so reliable, I don't always need to bring a car to Blue Lake. I often share a ride from Mesa County to Blue Lake and bus upvalley from there.
The walk from the house to the bus stop is two blocks, a good mini-stretch first thing in the morning, followed by an equal walk from the Snowmass Village bus stop to the job site. Reverse that for the evening trip home, and I get four little mini-sprints. That is certainly better than no exercise at all, which is all too common for me on short winter days.
I often run into an old friend on the bus. The length of the bus ride seems like the perfect time to catch up. I usually pack work, or my latest reading adventure, though sometimes it is just fun to soak up the scenery without having to worry about the road. Plans for wireless Internet access on the buses will make that time even more productive.
Contrast that scenario with my work commute from my home in Mack to Grand Junction clients. Mack is 18 miles from G.J., about the same distance as Basalt to Aspen. But the commute is a very different story. I have to drive. There is very little public transportation in Mesa County outside the Grand Junction central core. We get our share of snow and ice on the highway, along with freezing fog.
Despite the fact that most of the towns that string I-70 (Mack, Loma, Fruita, Grand Junction, Clifton, Palisade) are only seconds off the exit ramp, there are no convenient park and rides and no buses.
With tough economics leaving many of our neighbors without reliable personal cars, the lack of public transportation is a yet another hardship.
The Roaring Fork Transit Authority contributes to the quality of Roaring Fork Valley life and guest appeal. Look at the great success of the free Aspen/Snowmass route. Accessible transportation is making the Roaring Fork Valley safer by making it easy to use the bus as a designated driver.
As the Roaring Fork Valley continues the sometimes painful process of separating the stuff that is working well from the stuff that is getting in the way, RFTA is a success to be built upon. If I can continue to enjoy and support this wonderful program for an additional buck or two a day, I'm happy to oblige.
RFTA is near and dear to my heart, mainly because the convenient stops are near my Roaring Fork Valley occasional home in Blue Lake and pretty much everywhere I need to go from there. The buses are clean, they run on time and the drivers are courteous professionals. What's not to love?
A recent article in the Snowmass Sun (written by Aspen Times reporter Scott Condon) suggested that with RFTA's recent fare hike, it was now more economical to drive. The article compared the cost of gas to the cost of bus fares.
As an on-line comment quickly pointed out, cars, tires, insurance, registration fees and repairs are not free. Factoring in the total cost of driving (which the IRS allows at about 54 cents per mile), the true cost of the round-trip commute from El Jebel to Aspen is close to $20 per day, far more than the $7.50 bus fare.
Gas literally ain't the half of it.
I was disappointed to see the article exhibit the short-term, incomplete thinking that only factored in current week's expenses (filling up the tank) and ignored longer term factors ($500 insurance bill, $800 repair, dirtier air). This discussion struck me as a metaphor for the same “only count the fast money” mentality that seems to have dominated Roaring Ford Valley planning for far too long. In case you hadn't noticed, it's not working so good.
RFTA, on the other hand, appears to be working very well. The recent fare increases were long overdue. It is still an outstanding bargain.
Besides getting to and from work and friends' homes, here's what I get for my RFTA ridership.
I sleep better. As the snow piles up outside my Blue Lake bedroom, I do not worry a bit about the drive to work the next day. I know I will be boarding a nice warm bus with a driver who knows how to handle icy mountain roads.
I keep one more car out of a dense neighborhood. Because the bus is so convenient and so reliable, I don't always need to bring a car to Blue Lake. I often share a ride from Mesa County to Blue Lake and bus upvalley from there.
The walk from the house to the bus stop is two blocks, a good mini-stretch first thing in the morning, followed by an equal walk from the Snowmass Village bus stop to the job site. Reverse that for the evening trip home, and I get four little mini-sprints. That is certainly better than no exercise at all, which is all too common for me on short winter days.
I often run into an old friend on the bus. The length of the bus ride seems like the perfect time to catch up. I usually pack work, or my latest reading adventure, though sometimes it is just fun to soak up the scenery without having to worry about the road. Plans for wireless Internet access on the buses will make that time even more productive.
Contrast that scenario with my work commute from my home in Mack to Grand Junction clients. Mack is 18 miles from G.J., about the same distance as Basalt to Aspen. But the commute is a very different story. I have to drive. There is very little public transportation in Mesa County outside the Grand Junction central core. We get our share of snow and ice on the highway, along with freezing fog.
Despite the fact that most of the towns that string I-70 (Mack, Loma, Fruita, Grand Junction, Clifton, Palisade) are only seconds off the exit ramp, there are no convenient park and rides and no buses.
With tough economics leaving many of our neighbors without reliable personal cars, the lack of public transportation is a yet another hardship.
The Roaring Fork Transit Authority contributes to the quality of Roaring Fork Valley life and guest appeal. Look at the great success of the free Aspen/Snowmass route. Accessible transportation is making the Roaring Fork Valley safer by making it easy to use the bus as a designated driver.
As the Roaring Fork Valley continues the sometimes painful process of separating the stuff that is working well from the stuff that is getting in the way, RFTA is a success to be built upon. If I can continue to enjoy and support this wonderful program for an additional buck or two a day, I'm happy to oblige.
