Gov. DeSantis touts $227M saved for motorists halfway through toll-slashing program

TALLAHASSEE, FLA. 5/5/23-Gov. Ron DeSantis during a news conference after the 2023 legislative session concluded, Friday at the Capitol in Tallahassee. COLIN HACKLEY PHOTO

Frequent expressway travelers in Florida have saved more than $227 million since the launch of a program cutting costs for toll customers statewide, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration says.

Last month alone, 1.1 million Floridians saved a combined $37.2 million, according to a news release from the Governor’s Office.

The one-year program, which lawmakers passed through legislation by Sen. Nick DiCeglie and Rep. Demi Busatta Cabrera during a Special Session in December, gives motorists with at least 35 monthly toll payments a 50% toll credit per transaction.

“The Toll Relief Program has made it a little easier for commuters as they travel to do business, spend time with family and friends, and enjoy all that Florida has to offer,” Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise Executive Director and CEO Nicola Liquori said in a statement Monday.

“The Toll Relief Program allows us to give back to our loyal customers and thank them for their continued support. Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise is proud to offer this additional cost-savings benefit.”

Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue attributed the cost cut drivers and motorcyclists in the state are enjoying to “Gov. DeSantis’ vision (to create) opportunities for Floridians to find savings when inflation has increased in other areas of life.”

Through Dec. 31, the program is anticipated to provide nearly $480 million in savings.

It follows a smaller-scale, six-month “SunPass Savings” program DeSantis announced in August that through December resulted in some 384,000 Florida drivers saving more than $18 million.

“With rampant inflation caused by years of bad decisions by politicians in Washington, I am proud that we have put Florida in the position to provide year-long savings to families,” said DeSantis, who is currently on the road out-of-state campaigning for President.

On Friday, he was involved in a fender bender near Chattanooga. A police report revealed all the cars involved were taxpayer-funded government vehicles, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Republican state legislators pushed through a new law in May, which DeSantis signed the same month, shielding the Governor’s travel records, including how much he spends, where he goes and by what means.

The records have been used in the past to reveal questionable travel habits of politicians, including former CFO Alex Sink, former Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp and former Attorney General Bill McCollum.

Former Gov. Rick Scott, now a U.S. Senator, highlighted the travel scandals in his 2010 bid for Governor, upending establishment favorite McCollum in the GOP Primary and then edging out Sink in the General Election.

Scott made good on a campaign promise to sell the state planes and used his private jet while in office to save the state money. But once he left, the Legislature approved the purchase of new planes to serve DeSantis.

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Gray Rohrer of Florida Politics contributed to this report.