Colorado rental car fee hike would raise money for Front Range and mountain passenger rail systems

By Jesse Paul | Colorado Sun

Colorado’s state-imposed rental car fee would increase by as much as $3 per day under a soon-to-be-introduced bill in the legislature aimed at attracting federal investment in proposed Front Range and mountain passenger train systems.

The fee increase would generate an estimated $50 million in revenue annually, money that would be used as a match to secure federal grants. Lawmakers are specifically hoping for a share of the $66 billion Congress set aside in 2021 for rail development in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. 

“We have a short window to pull down this federal infrastructure money,” said Senate President Steve Fenberg, a Boulder Democrat and the lead sponsor of the forthcoming bill. “I really want to make sure Colorado gets some of that money. I don’t want it all to go to the Northeast. I don’t want it all to go to California. I want to make sure that Colorado gets its fair share.”

READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN