Section 43-1-127 - Registration of carpooling service internet applications - limitations - disclosure - definitions(1) On and after October 1, 2021, an owner of a carpooling service internet application or an operator of the application on the owner's behalf shall register with the department on an annual basis in a form and manner determined by the department. The department shall publish the form and manner of registering on the department's public website. In registering with the department, the owner or operator of an application agrees that the owner or operator shall: (a) With respect to a single trip for which a driver and user are matched through the carpooling service internet application:(I) Compensate the driver up to the total rate of reimbursement based on miles driven multiplied by the prevailing federal internal revenue service's mileage reimbursement rate for business use;(II) Require each user to pay an equal amount of the fee for carpooling service, which fee shall be reasonably calculated to cover the direct and indirect costs of providing the carpooling service; and(III) Not allow a driver who provides carpooling service for the owner's or operator's carpooling service internet application to transport more than six passengers at a time, excluding the driver, in the driver's personal vehicle;(b) Limit each driver to one trip per day; and(c) Disclose to users in a conspicuous manner on the carpooling service internet application the following disclaimer: Be advised that carpooling service companies are not regulated by the state of Colorado. Background checks might not be performed on drivers, drivers are not subject to medical examination and certification, vehicles are not subject to inspection by the state, and state insurance verification is not performed.
(2) The department is not liable for any act or omission of an owner or operator of a carpooling service internet application, an agent of an owner or operator, a driver, or a user.(3) Reimbursed costs collected in accordance with this section shall not be deemed compensation for any purpose.(4) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:(a)(I) "Carpooling service" means a not-for-profit arrangement in which two or more individuals use a motor vehicle for transportation to, and possibly returning from, the same destination or nearby destinations.(II) "Carpooling service" includes, for each user or passenger: (A) A trip that is at least twenty-three miles between pick-up and drop-off points, whether the pick-up and drop-off points are located within or outside metropolitan areas; and(B) A trip that is to or from a ski area, as that term is defined in section 33-44-103 (6), regardless of the distance between the ski area and the other location.(III) "Carpooling service" does not include a transportation arrangement made with:(A) A political subdivision, as defined in section 29-1-202 (2);(B) A common carrier, contract carrier, taxicab service, large-market taxicab service, or towing carrier, as those terms are defined in section 40-10.1-101;(C) A charter bus, children's activity bus, fire crew transport, luxury limousine service, or off-road scenic charter, as those terms are defined in section 40-10.1-301; or(D) A transportation network company, as defined in section 40-10.1-602 (3).(b) "Carpooling service internet application" or "application" means an internet application or digital network used to connect drivers and users:(I) For the purpose of facilitating carpooling service; and(II) Through which reservations for carpooling service are made no less than two hours in advance of, and are usually made at least one day in advance of, the carpooling service.(c) "Driver" means an individual who uses a vehicle that the individual personally owns or leases and who provides carpooling services to users in that vehicle through use of a carpooling service internet application.(d)(I) "Metropolitan area" means a metropolitan planning area designated by agreement of a governor and a metropolitan planning organization, as those terms are defined in 49 U.S.C. sec. 5302 (9) and 49 U.S.C. sec. 5303 (b)(1) and (b)(2) of the "Federal Transit Act", as amended.(II) "Metropolitan area" does not include any ski area, as that term is defined in section 33-44-103 (6).(e) "Trip" means a single round trip that a driver makes to provide carpooling service to one or more users, involving one or more pick-up locations and one or more drop-off destinations along the way, during which all intentional stops that the driver makes relate to the provision of carpooling service to the users and any other passengers in a user's party.(f) "User" means an individual who is matched with a driver through a carpooling service internet application to receive carpooling service for the user and for any other passengers in the user's party.Amended by 2023 Ch. 303,§ 91, eff. 8/7/2023.Amended by 2022 Ch. 421, §94, eff. 8/10/2022.Added by 2021 Ch. 44, §1, eff. 4/19/2021.L. 2021: Entire section added, (HB 21 -1076), ch. 187, p. 187, §1, effective April 19.2023 Ch. 303, was passed without a safety clause. See Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(3).