As gas taxes fall short of funding Colorado’s roads, CDOT gets good reviews on test of mileage-based tax system but concerns remain
Amid the praise, concerns emerged about privacy, out-of-state drivers and penalizing cars that use little to no gas
December 12, 2017
The Colorado Department of Transportation conducted a four-month study to see if drivers would agree to pay state road taxes based on their mileage — not the amount of gasoline they buy.
A four-month study designed to measure Coloradans' appetite for overhauling how the state pays for roads offers a glimpse of the challenges that await as changing technology erodes the clout of gasoline taxes.
The study enlisted 150 drivers to evaluate the prospect of calculating state transportation taxes based on the miles they drive. Several issues emerged from the broadly positive results, including privacy concerns stemming from the program's use of GPS, the challenge of collecting revenue from out-of-state motorists traveling through Colorado and the appearance of punishing drivers of electric or fuel-sipping vehicles.
"In order to get closer to making a pitch for implementation, we have to answer more questions," said Tim Kirby, a planning manager with the Colorado Department of Transportation. "We're at the beginning stages of research."
CDOT released results Tuesday from its Road Usage Charge Pilot Program, which was conducted from December 2016 through April of this year, as it seeks to identify more stable sources of road tax revenue.
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