Decline in vehicle registrations slows FASTER

 Vehicle registrations in Colorado took a slight drop in January compared with the high point of June last year – a statistic that’s in line with coming up short on revenue in the FASTER program – and trailer registrations account for one-third of the decline.

State figures for total registrations showed 5,067,035 license plates registered in Colorado as of Jan. 31. That is 54,223 fewer than were registered as of June 30.

Late fees on non-motorized trailers became a sore point for many Coloradans when FASTER bumped up the penalty from a flat $10 to a new rate of $25 per month it is late, up to a maximum of $100. Trailer owners accustomed to picking up their tags when they broke out seasonal trailers for use and simply paying the $10 or even getting waivers from county clerks instead complained to the clerks and lawmakers about the penalties.

Last year’s increase in auto registration fees aimed at raising separate funds for repairs of poor-rated bridges and roadways – a program known as FASTER, the first new funding stream for highway repairs in Colorado in 18 years – has brought in slightly less revenue than projected in part because of fewer auto registrations than analysts projected.

As a result, the Colorado Department of Transportation won’t be able to fund all of the projects it initially put on its lists for road and bridge repairs.

Read more at Kevin Flynn’s Inside Lane.