Transit Aid for Cal State Campus

* Re “CSU Campus to Get $13 Million in Transit Aid,” Feb. 6.

The Ventura County Transportation Commission’s allocation reeks of special interests.

For $13 million we get four natural-gas buses with bike racks, which will stop at train stations that are used very little. Students who don’t like the buses will get to use 21 electric bicycles to make the long trek from the stations. Because our politicians are buying electric bikes, they also have to buy rechargers and, of course, bike storage lockers too. Apparently they’re going to paint some bike lanes, and this is what we get for $9.8 million. The other $3.2 million will be used to widen Lewis Road.

Did these special-interest politicians ever think of building some dormitories at the school? If you can justify using transportation funds for electric bikes, rechargers and storage lockers, surely spending the transportation funds in order to have less travel would be justified. They are justifying spending this money for environmental reasons; that is a ruse.

These pork projects are just a microcosm of how poorly the transportation funds have been spent. Why isn’t this money being spent on highway safety? It sure would be nice to have median barriers on all four-lane freeways and highways. All special interests know that there is a lot of money because of the 45-plus-cent tax the public pays on every gallon of gas sold, and they are all at the trough.

BILL BAKER

Ventura