© 2024 All Rights reserved WUSF
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Frequent SunPass users across Florida will get discounts on tolls starting in September

New construction of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge on a cloudy day.
AP
The discount will apply to motorists who use several highways across the Tampa Bay area, including the Sunshine Skyway.

Gov. Ron DeSantis says the program will apply to motorists who use SunPass on roads owned by the Florida Department of Transportation.

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a toll discount program for frequent SunPass users that will begin next month.

Speaking at the Florida Turnpike headquarters in Orlando on Thursday, DeSantis said the program will apply to motorists using roads owned by the Florida Department of Transportation.

The SunPass Savings program will begin Sept. 1 and run for the next six months.

It will provide a 20% credit each month for motorists driving two-axle vehicles — whose accounts are in good standing — with at least 40 paid transactions a month, and 25% for those with 80 or more transactions.

DeSantis said the program is part of a larger tax-cut proposal that he will present to the Florida Legislature next year.

"We need relief for folks," DeSantis said. "What can we do; what are our options? And obviously the legislative proposal is in the works and that is forthcoming, but could we do anything now? It's part of a lot of things that we've been able to do to recognize, really, the toll that this inflationary period is having."

According to a news release, the program will provide an estimated $38 million in relief to SunPass commuters.

Motorists who use FDOT highways for their daily commutes spend an average of $50 a month on tolls, the release said. The program could save them about $60 over the next six months.

The program will apply to several roadways across the greater Tampa Bay region, including the Sunshine Skyway, Suncoast Parkway, Veterans Expressway, Polk Parkway, and Pinellas Bayway.

A map showing the highways that will qualify for the discounts can be found here.

I wasn't always a morning person. After spending years as a nighttime sports copy editor and page designer, I made the move to digital editing in 2000. Turns out, it was one of the best moves I've ever made.
WUSF 89.7 depends on donors for the funding it takes to provide you the most trusted source of news and information here in town, across our state, and around the world. Support WUSF now by giving monthly, or make a one-time donation online.