WAVY.com

‘I call it free money’: Hampton Roads residents encouraged to sign up for toll relief

    • PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Speaker of the House of Delegates Don Scott is reminding residents of Hampton Roads to sign up for toll relief.

    Scott said too many people are not aware there has been some type of toll relief in the area since 2017.

    “I ask everybody to go out there and get it,” Scott said. “We have a problem right now where people are not signing up for toll relief, and it’s been underutilized.”

    According to the Virginia Department of Transportation, those who use the Downtown or Midtown tunnels and make $65,000 or less a year are able to go to the Portsmouth or Norfolk E-ZPass Customer Service Centers and show proof of residency and income to sign up for relief.

    “Oh, is that all you have to do,” Norfolk resident Robyn Scott asked. “We did not know this.”

    Portsmouth resident Lisa McDonald told 10 On Your Side she knows all about toll relief.

    “I call it free money,” McDonald said. “Get your free money. It is free money.”

    Scott urged those who are able to sign up to show a demand for toll relief.

    “We need to show the Department of Transportation that there is a demand for toll relief, so we need everyone who is eligible for toll relief to sign up,” Scott said. “It’s really, really simple.”

    According to Elizabeth River Crossing’s Communications (ERC) Manager Carley Brierre, more than 18,500 people are now enrolled in toll relief funded by ERC. Last year, ERC thought they could do a better job in serving more customers with toll relief.

    “So, we raised the income threshold from $50,000 to $65,000, and we increased the number of discounted trips to 14 maximum,” Brierre said. “So that’s twice a day, seven days a week. And we kept it ongoing and rolling, and obviously increased our contribution at that point to $3.4 million, and we increase that 3.5 percent a year. So we are really proud to have 18,551 people enrolled.”

    At first, the toll relief program, which started in 2017, only allowed people who lived in Portsmouth and Norfolk who earned less than $30,000 a year were able to get a 75-cent rebate for each trip after paying full price for eight trips throughout the month.

    In 2022, the program was expanded to include all 17 cities and counties in Hampton Roads who earned $50,000 per year or less. Through this expansion, 10 trips were allowed per week with a 50% discount.

    Those who sign up for ERC Toll Relief will be able to travel through the Downtown or Midtown Tunnels, where a 50% discount will automatically be applied for up to 14 passenger vehicle trips per week. Previous participants must re-enroll each year. Requirements for the relief can be found below:

    Eligibility requirements for ERC Toll Relief

    Accepted proof of residency (only one needed)

    Accepted proof of income (only one needed)

    Locations to enroll in ERC Toll Relief

    In addition to the on-going ERC Toll Relief, a new plan is about to go into effect by Jan. 1, 2025.

    The new plan from the General Assembly will add an additional $101 million over the next two years for more toll relief.

    Starting by Jan. 1, residents who live in Norfolk, Portsmouth, Hampton, Newport News or Franklin making less than $50,000 a year will be able to get up to 14 free trips a week across the Downtown and Midtown Tunnels, forgiveness of individual toll debt and the ability to receive a no-cost E-ZPass transponder.

    VDOT’s Director of Operations David Caudill said more income information will be needed with the new plan.

    “Our program will reach out to them directly,” Caudill said. “We have some information which allows us to do that, and we’ll say, ‘hey, these changes are in play.'”

    Suffolk Mayor Mike Duman told 10 On Your Side he was caught off guard from not being included in the new relief program, stating that Suffolk is stressed too.

    “My goal is looking at it in the near future and see how we could possibly adjust the metric to where we could include the other Hampton Roads cities or Suffolk, obviously,” Duman said.

    WAVY reached out to Scott about Duman’s concerns about where the new toll relief is eligible.

    “We’ll take a look at that and see where we can add Suffolk,” Scott said. “Because we’ve added … Hampton [and] Newport News, so it’s not unusual to go back and take a look in adding localities.”

    Scott said it is important to get the word out about toll relief.

    “I think this is very important for 10 On Your Side to cover this because this lets the public know what is available to them to help alleviate some of the burdens of having to go through tolls every day,” Scott said. “The more information we get out to those hard-working Virginians who, through no fault of their own, have to go through these tolls, the better.”

    More information about the ERC Toll Relief program can be found here.