Tampa’s Selmon Expressway Tolls Increase
Tampa’s Selmon expressway tolls increase in July. This stinks, because tolls are already expensive. And due to inflation, it looks like they are going up. The good news is, is that, the cost isn’t going up that much, but over a year, that’s a significant amount of money, especially for those of us who use the Selmon Expressway daily.
Starting July 1, 2024, is when Tampa’s Selmon Expressway Tolls will increase. In the new story from WFLA.com, it states that the cost of using the toll road will be only going up about 5 cents. SunPass users on the East Mainline section of the expressway will pay $2.08, which is 5 cents more from the previous rate of $2.03 for 2-axle vehicles. If you don’t have a Sunpass and you use Toll-by-Plate, you will pay $2.44, up from $2.39.
So, why are they raising prices? The Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority says it is due to inflation. Recent years of growing inflation and increased costs of operating and construction has caused THEA to increase the costs. THEA’s toll indexing policies automatically increase tolls at a minimum of 2.5% annually or CPI (consumer price index) to adjust to inflation.
Toll Relief Credit
The best news is that the Toll Relief Credit program is still running through March of 2025. SunPass users who have more than 35 transactions per month can still take advantage of the Florida Toll Relief Credit. The program started back up in April and will last through March 2025. Those who meet the requirements will receive a credit worth 50% of the previous month’s transactions back into their account.
For someone like myself this is a huge savings and helps out quite a bit. I average about $120 each month in tolls, just driving to and from work. So, each year, I’m spending an extra 1500 just driving to work. So for me, I’m saving about $700 a year with the credit.
