Cash tolls to rise on Suncoast Parkway

LAND O’ LAKES –
Pasco County motorists who drive the Suncoast Parkway and don’t have SunPasses will pay more at the toll booths starting sometime this year.

Tolls are scheduled to go up by 25 cents a stop on the Suncoast and many other toll roads throughout the state.

The higher rates are expected to provide an additional $1.8 billion over five years for Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise.

By statute, the price hike must take effect by June 30, though it could happen earlier than that, said Christa Deason, a Turnpike Enterprise spokeswoman. The exact date for the change isn’t set.

The toll increases were required by legislation that was passed in 2007 and which gave the Florida Department of Transportation five years to implement.

“We need to keep up with inflation,” Deason said. “That was the purpose of the legislation.”

The revenue generated by the increase will help pay for road maintenance, widening projects and other improvements to the toll-road system, she said.

The Suncoast Parkway hasn’t had a toll increase since the road opened in 2001, Deason said.

Tolls on the Suncoast vary by the toll plaza’s location and size of vehicle, but in most cases for most vehicles current tolls range from about 25 cents to $1.

SunPass users receive a discount. The increase will apply only to drivers who use cash to pay tolls. SunPass rates on the Suncoast will remain the same, Deason said, though they are going up on some toll roads elsewhere in the state.

Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise, which operates as a separate FDOT unit, is responsible for all operations on toll roads and toll bridges owned by department. That represents about 600 miles of roadway and 80 percent of all toll facilities in Florida, according to the Turnpike’s website.

The Turnpike brings in about $50 million a month in revenue statewide, the majority of the money coming from SunPass users.