Monday, August 18, 2008

Bicycle excise tax pays for trail network

The city of Colorado Springs, CO, charges a $4 excise tax on new bicycles. In 2007, retailers in Colorado Springs sold 32,853 new bicycles, compared against 23,512 cars and trucks sold at car dealerships in all of El Paso County.

This bicycle tax was created 20 years ago to fund construction of bike facilities and has generated about $2 million in income since it started in 1988. According to Colorado Springs transportation planners, the current network of bike paths would not exist today without this tax.

Read more about this excise tax in the Colorado Springs Gazette.

3 comments:

nickhacks said...

I think its a fair and decent funding source. I would be more than happy to throw in $4 towards trails/facilities for bikes everytime I purchase a new one (not very often, therefore its not a big deal)

!= said...

I assume you mean El Paso County CO and not El Paso County TX. El Paso, TX (County Seat of El Paso County) is not a very bike friendly place, FYI.

Yokota Fritz said...

Correct, El Paso County in Colorado.