1. Why do I have to pay to use the road when I already pay taxes?

If the state had enough gas tax funding to pay for all of its transportation needs, there would be no need for toll roads. However, this is not the case. The state of Florida is facing a $31 billion shortfall in funding identified transportation improvements through the year 2010, and $47 billion shortfall through year 2020.

There are no free roads. Motorists pay for roads in a variety of ways: by toll, gas tax, developer fee, etc. In many cases, tolls are the most cost-effective way to directly link user fees to specific roads. When you travel a toll road, bridge or tunnel, your tolls support the construction, repair and maintenance, and improvement of that particular system. Toll roads are self-supporting, freeing highway tax money for other needed road projects. In most cases, including Florida’s Turnpike, if a road was not created as a toll road, it would not have been built due to a lack of available funding.

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2. When was the original Turnpike paid off, and why are tolls still being collected?

All revenue bonds sold prior to 1989, including the bonds borrowed to build the original Turnpike, have been paid. Revenue bond issues since 1989 make up the Turnpike’s existing $1.8 billion 30-year bond debt obligation. In 1988, when the original bonds were nearly paid, the Florida Transportation Commission, a civilian oversight group of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) appointed by the Governor, supported a visionary financing plan for Florida’s Turnpike system. The Florida Transportation Commission’s "vision" was to use the bonding capacity of the Turnpike to finance new Florida Intrastate Highway System projects which, in time, through tolls collected, would help finance future transportation projects on a statewide basis.

In an effort to alleviate intrastate traffic problems, the 1990 Florida Legislature passed legislation enacting the Commission’s plan, and directed Florida’s Turnpike to begin the implementation and funding of an ambitious expansion program. By the year 2006, the Florida Department of Transportation, using toll revenue and Florida’s Turnpike bonding capability, will have added 117 miles of new roads to Florida’s Intrastate Highway System. The collected toll revenue has also funded the construction of 13 new interchanges and additional lanes on the Turnpike’s mainline, improving access and traffic flow. In 1997, the Florida Legislature authorized the continued expansion of the Florida’s Turnpike System by approving additional initiatives such as increasing the Turnpike's bonding capability and identifying additional statewide projects.

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3. What do you do with the tolls collected? How much money do you collect?

The Florida’s Turnpike system revenue is an alternate source of revenue for the state of Florida and the Florida Department of Transportation to meet transportation needs. Florida’s Turnpike revenue comes from tolls collected on the 449-mile statewide Turnpike System and from concession revenue. In fiscal year 2003, $458 million was collected in revenue. All revenue is reinvested into the Turnpike Enterprise's statewide work program, used to pay operations and maintenance costs, and used to pay bond debt.

Existing bond issues are paying for renovation and improvement projects on the Turnpike mainline, the Homestead Extension of Florida’s Turnpike in Miami-Dade County and the Bee Line West Expressway in Orlando. Such improvements include resurfacing, widening, new interchanges, etc. Existing bond issues are also paying for the purchase and improvement of the Sawgrass Expressway in Broward County, and for Florida Intrastate Highway System expansion projects including the Seminole Expressway, Southern Connector Extension, and Western Beltway, Part C project in Orlando, the Veterans Expressway in Tampa, the Suncoast Parkway in Pasco and Hernando counties, and the Polk Parkway in Lakeland.

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4. Why should I pay tolls so that you can build toll roads in Tampa or Orlando?

Florida’s Turnpike has become a major part of the Florida Intrastate Highway System. The expanded Turnpike System, authorized by the 1990 Florida Legislature, has enabled the Florida Department of Transportation to develop the Turnpike into a system of toll roads located around the state. All revenue from the system is reinvested into projects building new highways or making improvements to existing highways on a statewide basis.

The Homestead Extension of Florida’s Turnpike (HEFT) bonds were retired in the late 1980s, however, the bond debt was paid by tolls collected from the entire system from Orlando to Miami. When the Florida Legislature passed its Transportation Bill in April 1997, several initiatives were passed regarding the future of Florida’s Turnpike through 2020. A main initiative of the bill establishes a funding equity formula based on toll revenue collected that will ensure South Florida (Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties) receives its fair share of Turnpike funding.

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5. What is the SunPass® Prepaid Toll Program?

SunPass® is a statewide Prepaid Toll Program being implemented by the Florida Department of Transportation on most of Florida toll roads. The innovative system incorporates the latest in prepaid toll programs, saving commuters time and money, while creating more efficient, less congested roadways.

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6. Why build toll plazas across the Turnpike? Why did you eliminate the ticket system?

When Florida’s Turnpike was originally constructed in 1957, Florida was vastly rural and the majority of Turnpike patrons were long-distance travelers. Today, the majority of Turnpike patrons are commuters and short-distance motorists. The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has responded to this significant change, and has converted to the coin system of toll collection in its urban areas.

The coin system of toll collection is now used on Florida’s Turnpike north of Kissimmee and south of Lantana. The coin system - as opposed to the ticket system - is most effective in heavily traveled urban areas where it reduces delays at ramp toll plazas, improves safety, and alleviates congestion. The coin system of toll collection involves "non-tolled" movements at certain exits and entrance ramps. These movements are not "free," because at some point, frequently at a mainline toll plaza, you must pay a toll. Coin system toll plazas are also able to process many more cars per hour. Instead of every motorist stopping to pay a different amount for a ticket and having change made at the plaza, uniform toll amounts and automatic coin lanes allow vehicles to be processed much more quickly.

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7. The New York State Thruway toll rate is 3 cents per mile. Why is it double in Florida?

Nationally, the toll rate on Florida’s Turnpike falls slightly below the median when compared with other state toll road facilities which range from 2 cents per mile to 18 cents per mile. In 1990, the Florida Legislature authorized a plan to raise the Florida’s Turnpike mainline toll rate to 6 cents per mile and to equalize toll rates throughout the mainline system.  This three-stage toll rate increase was completed in 1995.  In an effort to keep up with inflation and fund the state's growing transportation needs, another toll rate increase was implemented on March  2004 .  This toll rate increase  however, is approximately 25% for cash customers only.  SunPass tolls remain at the existing rates.

Metropolitan areas such as Orlando and Tampa have several toll facilities. In Orlando: the Central Florida GreeneWay; the Bee Line Expressway; the Holland East-West Expressway; the Seminole Expressway; and the Osceola Parkway. In Tampa: the Veterans Expressway; the Sunshine Skyway Bridge; and the Tampa Crosstown Expressway. The toll rates on these toll facilities range between 8- and 12-cents-per mile.

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 8. How do you decide where to put an interchange or build a new highway?

The decision on where to build new interchanges or highways is governed by Florida Statute and bond covenants.  The rules vary slightly by project type but in general new projects are evaluated in four ways.  New projects must (1) meet a transportation need, (2) be locally supported, (3) environmentally suitable, and (4) economically feasible.  Transportation need is evaluated by determining how much traffic a future project would serve and what type of relief it may provide for other transportation facilities.  Local support is important for projects to be constructed.  The Enterprise has never built an interchange or roadway that was not approved by the local officials and Metropolitan Planning Organizations governing a specific area.  No project can be built without environmental consequences.  The Enterprise prides itself on considering impacts to the natural and social environment from a project’s conception to completion, working very hard to minimize and mitigate any environmental impacts resulting from Enterprise actions.  Economic feasibility tests are conducted for new roadway projects.  To pass these tests a new roadway must pay 50 percent of its own bond indebtedness by the twelfth year of its opening to traffic and all of its own bond indebtedness by its 22^nd year of operation.  Projects that pass these four tests are considered viable and must compete statewide with other possible projects.