The North Carolina Board of Transportation passed a resolution Thursday requesting state legislators postpone implementing tolls on all state ferry routes at the turn of the new year.
The board cast its vote after North Carolina Department of Transportation Ferry Division Director Jed Dixon presented rate recommendations for routes that are currently toll-free, including Currituck-Knotts Island, Aurora-Bayview, Hatteras-Ocracoke and Cherry Branch-Minnesott Beach.
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Proposed toll rates required by state law adopted earlier this year were presented as follows:
- $10 each way for Hatteras-Ocracoke.
- $7 each way for Currituck-Knotts Island, Aurora-Bayview and Cherry Branch-Minnesott Beach.
Those one-way rates are similar to existing ferry tolls on Cedar Island-Ocracoke, Swan Quarter-Ocracoke and Southport-Fort Fisher vehicle routes. Rates for those routes are recommended to remain unchanged.
Permanent residents of the state’s 20 coastal counties and active-duty military are eligible to purchase commuter passes for $150 each for one vehicle per year. Passes will be available to buy online and in person next month.
“We recognize this is a significant change for the residents and communities who rely on ferries for essential travel,” Dixon stated in a release. “Ultimately, we had to meet the requirements outlined in the law, minimize impacts to ferry operations and account for the potential impacts the tolls could have on our customers and coastal communities.”
To prepare to implement the law that is set to take effect Jan. 1, the division has been recruiting and hiring people to fill temporary positions to collect tolls. The agency is also updating its ticketing and reservation systems, procuring computer equipment and retrofitting terminals with signage to support tolling, Dixon said at the boards meeting Thursday.
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Board members agreed that the division needs additional time to establish a collection system.
“Board members applauded the efforts of the Ferry Division to complete the large task in a short timeframe, but said the agency should have more time for additional analysis and to execute the many tasks needed for toll collection,” the release states.
Transportation Secretary Daniel Johnson will share the resolution with the state legislature.
Revenue generated from the tolls are to be used to replace aging ferry vessels.
Dixon said that the recommended rates are expected to generate an average of $4.4 million annually, which is enough to “support vessel replacement but is less than the revenue required to fund 80% of one vessel every four years,” according to the release.
He went on to say that the division will monitor new toll-generated revenue, its impact on ridership “and report any needed changes to the board in a year.”
The proposed rates were announced following a public comment period the Ferry Division held Aug. 17 – Sept. 14, during which time the agency hosted five public listening sessions, conducted an online survey, set up a voicemail hotline and established an email address to accept feedback.
The public may submit feedback on the proposed toll rates and rate-setting methodology beginning Friday through Oct. 23. Comments may be made online by clicking on the “submit comments” box, by phone at 984-205-6615, enter project code 10744, or by email at ferry-tolling@publicinput.com.
Dixon’s presentation to the board is available on the NCDOT website.
