Richmond toll roads are going cashless
Why it matters: Once the switch to All-Electronic Tolling is complete, drivers who don't have an E-ZPass will have to pay more to use Powhite, the Boulevard Bridge and the Downtown Expressway.
State of play: The Richmond Metropolitan Transportation Authority is transitioning because All-Electronic Tolling makes for a better highway driving experience, according to RMTA's website.
Phase one is scheduled to begin this winter at the 20-lane Powhite Parkway Toll Plaza.
Once complete, RMTA will make the switch for the Downtown Expressway in winter 2027, followed by the Boulevard Bridge.
Zoom in: Under the system, cash and coins won't be accepted. Drivers who don't have an E-ZPass will be charged via pay-by-plate, which will cost more, Tia Freeman with RMTA tells Axios. RMTA's higher rate hasn't been set yet.
That extra charge can be pricey, per Axios' review of Virginia toll roads that use it.
It's $1.60 more than the E-ZPass rate on the Dulles Toll Road, plus an extra $12.50 service fee if paid more than six days late.
Pay it more than 45 days later, and that fee grows to $25.
Yes, but: E-ZPass isn't free. While the transponder costs nothing, users typically must have a bank or credit card tied to the account with a minimum of $10 available.
E-ZPass offers a manual Reload Card, but adding to it costs an extra $1.50 per transaction, which (ironically) is more than it would cost to pay the toll to get back and forth across the Downtown Expressway or Nickel Bridge.
By the numbers: Around 15% of drivers used cash or coin to pay RMTA tolls in fiscal year 2023, per the latest RMTA data.
Downtown Expressway users had the smallest cash/coin use (9.5%).
Powhite's cash use was 15.5%.
Drivers on the Boulevard Bridge had by far the highest coin use rate at 26.6% — which anyone who uses the Nickel Bridge, as locals call it, can attest.
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