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Florida's Turnpike to raise toll rates
By Palm Beach Business.com
DELRAY BEACH – If you travel the turnpike you might want to grab a few extra quarters. The Florida Department of Transportation said Friday that it is hiking toll rates on the turnpike and all other toll roads and bridges in the state, effective 6 a.m. on June 24.
Drivers will have to pay an average increase of 25 cents at most toll booths. The increase affects both SunPass and cash customers.
“The additional revenues collected as part of the toll rate indexing will provide transportation funding to provide much needed relief to already congested corridors,” turnpike Director Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti said. “This will be accomplished by adding lanes and converting toll booths to an all-electronic system, resulting in the added benefit of improved safety.”
By law, FDOT is required adjust rates according to the consumer price index at least once every five years. The turnpike has not raised rates since 2007 largely because of the recession, but now faces a July 1 deadline to comply with the law.
SunPass customers have not had a toll rate increase since the program began in 1999 as an extra incentive to get drivers to use the electronic transponder system rather than traditional toll booths.
Despite the hike, SunPass customers still will pay a lower toll rate than nonusers.
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