Cash tolls are ending on key Richmond roads
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The future of Powhite. Image: Courtesy of RMTA
All-electronic tolling on Powhite Parkway, the Downtown Expressway and the Boulevard Bridge is set to begin.
Why it matters: Once it does, drivers without an E-ZPass will be automatically charged double the current cash rate.
State of play: The Richmond Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced last summer that it is transitioning three major toll roads to all-electronic tolling.
- The switch to cashless tolls should happen on Powhite (and all its on-ramps) and the Boulevard Bridge (aka the Nickel Bridge) in late February or early March, RMTA spokesperson Tia Freeman tells Axios.
- The Downtown Expressway (and its ramps) will also transition to no-cash, but only at night. Cash and coin will still be accepted there from 6:30am–9pm until 2027.
Zoom in: Cashless tolls makes for a better highway driving experience, can be better for the environment since there's less stopping and starting, and can help road operators save money on toll collectors, according to VDOT.
Yes, but: Drivers who don't invest in an E-ZPass will ultimately pay double what they pay now.
- Once the transition is complete, folks without an E-ZPass will be charged via pay-by-plate (a camera will take their picture and they'll be mailed a bill), per RMTA.
By the numbers: On Powhite Parkway and the Downtown Expressway: The $1 cash tolls will cost them $2 for pay-by-plate.
- Boulevard Bridge: The 50-cent cash toll will cost $1.
- The tolls charged at on- and off-ramps will also double.
Be smart: In 2023, RMTA raised the price on all its tolls to help it recover from a post-pandemic budget shortfall and also raised the rate higher for cash toll payers.
The intrigue: The share of drivers who used E-ZPass for RMTA tolls in fiscal year 2024 was virtually unchanged from the prior, per the latest RMTA data.
- The share of coin users declined by 2.3% while the share of violations (that is, people who didn't pay the toll) increased by 2.4%.