TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis floated an idea during a Wednesday cabinet meeting that could save Florida residents hundreds of dollars each year by shifting toll road costs to non-residents.
At the meeting, DeSantis suggested that visitors should cover a larger share of the expense for Florida’s more than 700 miles of toll roads.
He has previously provided toll relief to residents by offering a 50% discount for drivers who passed through 35 or more tolls in a single month. Under his latest proposal, Floridians could receive a 100% discount, with non-residents covering the full cost.
“How long do we keep the tolls? These tolls, they’ve been here since I can remember, like as a kid, the tolls on the turnpike,” DeSantis said Wednesday. “You know, at what point is all this going to be paid off now? Now maybe we have uptake. Look, you could charge the visitors, and they could probably support it all and give our Florida residents a break. I think that would be a really good idea.”
DeSantis did not outline how such a toll program would operate or explain how the pricing structure would replace the revenue lost if residents stopped paying tolls.
During the earlier half-off program, state officials said motorists saved about $400 each in 2023, while the program cost the state roughly $500 million.