Discounts planned for frequent commuters on Florida’s toll roads, DeSantis says

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday ordered discounts of up to 25% for frequent commuters on state toll roads that include Florida’s Turnpike.

Starting Sept. 1, the discount will run for six months. For drivers on Florida Department of Transportation toll roads, it would give a 20% credit to SunPass and E-Pass transponder users with 40 or more tolls a month and a 25% credit to customers with 80 or more tolls monthly.

“This will end up returning nearly $40 million to SunPass customers for this six-month period,” said the governor, who is seeking re-election in November. “And if you look at people who have to use these every day, it adds up very quickly.”

DeSantis said the program for two-axle vehicles was designed to last until the spring legislative session, when it could be broadened and made permanent, something he said he couldn’t do without the Legislature passing a law.

The discount won’t apply to the Central Florida Expressway Authority or the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority because the governor said he did not have the unilateral authority to compel those agencies to do offer it.

But he added the Legislature had the power to do that next year, adding the agencies could choose to do it now themselves if they wished.

“We think the potential benefit is about 400,000 SunPass customers who are using FDOT and Turnpike operating toll roads to get to work every day,” DeSantis said at the Florida’s Turnpike headquarters in western Orange County.

DeSantis said he was focusing on commuters and not tourists because when “tourists come, they pay a toll or something like that, we’ll take it. I’d rather them pay than us pay.”

Out-of-state visitors are often billed by the state’s Toll-by-Plate system, which takes a photo of the vehicle’s license plate and sends a bill.

FDOT officials did not respond immediately when asked whether discounts were considered for low-income drivers who often resort to paying tolls with cash.