A bill aimed at adding more passenger rail to Colorado is making progress towards becoming law. The bill would establish a congestion reduction fee on rental cars to generate funds for new rail projects and invest in statewide Bustang service. It also aims to address greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector.
A bill aimed at adding more passenger rail to Colorado is chugging along to becoming law., passed the Senate Appropriations Committee on April 12 and will now be heard on the Senate floor.
“It's really important that people have travel options going around in the state, whether it's to reduce pollution or just to give people a more convenient way to get from point A to point B so they don't have to be stuck in traffic or, if they are in traffic, they'd be getting work done or just relaxing and leaving the driving someone else,” says Danny Katz, executive director of the Colorado Public Interest Research Group, which supports the bill.
He says Colorado is currently on the low end of the average for rental car fees among the other states, and this fee would move it up to the high end of the average. With the right funding, Fenberg sees Colorado as very competitive compared to other states that will be applying for the available funding.In fact, Colorado has already been selected by the federalfor a phase II grant worth $500,000 to continue developing a plan to connect Fort Collins to Pueblo with passenger rail.
“We need to demonstrate that it's going to be a highly successful and utilized system in order to justify federal investment and make the project more competitive, which in my mind isn’t a slam dunk,” Frommer says. The agency has said it may not be able to work on the project until at least 2035 without a change in funding. According to Katz, it could be completed by 2028 if this federal funding comes through.“Currently, the agency is studying service options for commuter rail service between Westminster and Longmont and will continue to work closely with Front Range Passenger Rail and CDOT regardless of SB24-184’s outcome,” the statement notes.
Colorado Bill Passenger Rail Congestion Reduction Rental Cars Rail Projects Bustang Service Greenhouse Gas Emissions Transportation
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