Letter: Taking away business

On a drizzly afternoon in Canyonlands Park in April 1980, my car slid off the slick, muddy road into a ditch. We were south of the Upheaval Dome junction on the Island in the Sky, at least 30 miles from Moab, Utah. A park ranger happened by but would not help us get out because the government does not compete with local towing outfits. He relayed our situation to his dispatcher, and an hour later, we paid $100 for a two-minute private service. The tow-truck driver was smiling when he told us that business was very good every time it rained. We never questioned what government owed us versus what we had to pay for.

Joe High’s letter “Did you think this through?” (The Aspen Times, April 16) questions the City Council’s decision to subsidize a public taxi service. At significant tax-supported expense, the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority already provides extraordinary public-transportation service. The senior center sends a RFTA van to pick up any disabled person needing a ride to a health appointment. RFTA’s Dial-a-Ride already picks up anyone, even the able, anywhere in east Aspen. We have the seasonal crosstown and Hunter Creek shuttles and even a Tipsy Taxi service for the drunks. Council members should realize that subsidizing more than that is snatching bread from the mouths of hardworking taxi and limo drivers.

David Bentley

Aspen