Revisiting fuzzy math

Dear Editor:

In response to Richard Spencer’s letter “May as well drive” (June 26), I would like to clarify some of Mr. Spencer’s letter, as it seems he has his logic confused. First, next time he’d like to bash a popular, environmentally-friendly and convenient service, I urge Mr. Spencer to compare apples to apples. He claims that, “It now costs two people who are commuting to or from Basalt-Aspen $8 each way.” Let’s go ahead and simplify his math: This is equal to $4 per person, one way. He points out later that it costs one person $8 to go from Denver to Nederland (which is, depending on where you are in Denver, approximately 50 miles).

Figuring that Aspen and Basalt are approximately 20 miles apart, we see that it costs a Roaring Fork Valley resident $8 to go about 40 miles, while a Front Range resident pays $8 to go about 50 miles. Considering gas costs 75 cents more per gallon here than in Denver, I suppose the extra 4 cents per mile we pay to take the bus is the cost of living where we do. Encouraging people to drive their cars instead of taking the bus is irresponsible to everyone in the valley.

Considering Mr. Spencer’s familiarity with “RAFTA” (the Roaring Fork Transit Agency’s proper acronym is “RFTA”), I would guess he already walks, or drives, his talk.

David Hach

Aspen