Florida's SunPass, E-Pass relief program that saved drivers millions ends Monday. What to know
Sorry, drivers. Florida's popular toll rebate program is going away.
Under a 2023 bill, SunPass or E-PASS customers with at least 35 monthly toll transactions received an automatic 50% credit back to their accounts, meaning that frequent toll road users would save half their toll fee costs. More than 1.2 million Floridians received about $470 million back to their toll transponder accounts the first year, an average of nearly $400 per driver, according to the state Department of Transportation.
The Toll Relief Program was extended in April 2024 and by November, Floridians had seen nearly another $247 million credited back to them.
The program ends Monday, March 31, 2025.
While DeSantis' proposed 2025-2026 budget included $14.8 billion for the Department of Transportation, there was no mention of toll relief, and no toll relief bills have yet been introduced in this year's Legislature.
First, check your account. Log into your toll account, look for your activity listings and filter by Toll Relief program. In SunPass, click on Activity from the left menu and filter by "Toll Relief Credit" to see what you've been credited. Do not enter a transponder number. You can choose dates.
In the SunPass app, tap Go to Account, tap "View More" next to "Toll Activity in the Last 30 Days, and then filter for "Toll Relief Credit."
Other programs may have different menus: the Toll Relief program also works with Florida interoperable accounts such as E-PASS, Uni, and LeeWay.
If you feel you haven't received a toll relief credit you are owed, either select Customer Support in the SunPass lefthand menu and start an online chat or email SunPass customer service. Credits usually show up in your account on the 15th of the month, so credits for March should appear by mid-April.
Drivers with toll transponders such as SunPass or a "Florida interoperable account" (E-PASS, Uni, and LeeWay) in good standing who racked up 35 or more paid transactions within a calendar month received a 50% credit to their account, posted the following month.
All fees for toll roads in the state remained the same and had to be paid at the time they were used. The program offered credit based on what you've already paid. Only transactions using transponders were eligible, drivers paying tolls with cash did not receive credit back.
Anyone with a SunPass or other Florida interoperable transponder account in good standing.
Customers with two-axle vehicles only.
SunPass or Florida interoperable customers traveling on the Turnpike system and FDOT facilities.
Anyone with a transponder with 35 or more paid transactions that occur within a calendar month.
Registration was not required, credits were automatic.
Unclear.
The Toll Relief program was sort of an extension of it of the SunPass Savings Program, announced by DeSantis in August 2022, which offered a sliding scale of discounts to drivers with transponders. Transponders with 40-79 transactions within a month got a 20% credit, 80 or more transactions per month received a 25% credit.
The program was intended to run for six months but it was superseded by the Toll Relief Program, which was passed during a special session called to address Florida's troubled property insurance market.
At the time, Florida was awash in cash, boosted with federal funding and COVID relief dollars, with a budget surplus of more than $17 billion. Legislators appropriated $500 million to reimburse the FDOT, the Florida Turnpike Enterprise, and other Florida toll facilities for the credits.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida SunPass Toll Relief Program ends Monday, March 31
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