Richmond toll roads are going cashless
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Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
The Richmond metro's three major toll roads are going cashless, starting with Powhite Parkway later this year.
Why it matters: Once the switch to All-Electronic Tolling is complete, drivers who don't have an E-ZPass will have to pay more to use Powhite, the Boulevard Bridge and the Downtown Expressway.
State of play: The Richmond Metropolitan Transportation Authority is transitioning because All-Electronic Tolling makes for a better highway driving experience, according to RMTA's website.
- Phase one is scheduled to begin this winter at the 20-lane Powhite Parkway Toll Plaza and on Boulevard Bridge. Downtown Expressway will follow in winter 2027.
Zoom in: Under the system, cash and coins won't be accepted. Drivers who don't have an E-ZPass will be charged via pay-by-plate, which will cost more, Tia Freeman with RMTA tells Axios. RMTA's higher rate hasn't been set yet.
- That extra charge can be pricey, per Axios' review of Virginia toll roads that use it.
- It's $1.60 more than the E-ZPass rate on the Dulles Toll Road, plus an extra $12.50 service fee if paid more than six days late.
- Pay it more than 45 days later, and that fee grows to $25.
Yes, but: E-ZPass isn't free. While the transponder costs nothing, users typically must have a bank or credit card tied to the account with a minimum of $10 available.
- E-ZPass offers a manual Reload Card, but adding to it costs an extra $1.50 per transaction, which (ironically) is more than it would cost to pay the toll to get back and forth across the Downtown Expressway or Nickel Bridge.
By the numbers: Around 15% of drivers used cash or coin to pay RMTA tolls in fiscal year 2023, per the latest RMTA data.
- Downtown Expressway users had the smallest cash/coin use (9.5%).
- Powhite's cash use was 15.5%.
- Drivers on the Boulevard Bridge had by far the highest coin use rate at 26.6% — which anyone who uses the Nickel Bridge, as locals call it, can attest.
Zoom out: Cashless tolls offer myriad benefits for drivers, per VDOT, and toll road operators who no longer have to pay to man the booths.
- RMTA has 32 toll collection attendants budgeted for the next fiscal year, down significantly from the 53 it had budgeted in 2021.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect RMTA's new timeline to implement All-Electronic Tolling in the Richmond region.