In early May 2024 the Colorado Legislature passed two bills that will raise more than $160 million annually for public transit, including passenger rail and buses. Governor Polis is expected to sign both bills.

SB24-184 will raise about $50 million per year through a $3 fee on car rentals. This money appears to be dedicated entirely to rail projects. The bill also authorizes RTD to extend its planned Northwest rail service to Fort Collins, which would make it an “intercity” line eligible for large federal rail grants.

In its first full year of funding from a fee on oil and gas production, SB24-230 will raise at about $116 million per year for “clean transit” and $59 million to mitigate oil and gas impacts to wildlife. The transit money would be split three ways: 70% would go to local transit service, 10% to a competitive local transit grant fund, and 20% to just passenger rail.  

All these funding sources can be used as 20% matching money toward a grant from the Federal Rail Administration. The FRA is currently doling out money appropriated in President Biden’s 2021 Infrastructure Act and Colorado’s Front Range is one of the leading corridors for those funds.  (Info courtesy Colorado Legistrator)