Ferry tolls implementation plan is ‘half-baked’…at best

Part 4 in a Series

 

It’s interesting that the 23 vessels in North Carolina’s ferry system carry approximately 2 million passengers and upwards of 800,000 vehicles a year…ranking it as the second largest state-operated ferry system in the country, behind only Washington state.

 

That’s pretty impressive. North Carolina State Sen. Bobby Hanig of Currituck County proudly refers to our ferry system as “a major economic engine for eastern North Carolina, providing $1.2 billion in revenue, with an employment base of 5,900 jobs, producing $2.2 million in labor income, $735 million in economic impact and $32 million in local and state tax revenue.”

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) Ferry Division operates seven major routes year-round that carry both passengers and vehicles across various bodies of water.

 

Four of those routes have traditionally been toll-free. But that is about to change, effective Jan. 1, 2027, when the state begins to enforce a new tolling requirement that was authorized by the legislature in July as part of the budget bill.

What’s scary is that there is no plan about how to go about implementing the new tolls.

Sen. Hanig says the ferry tolls provision was the “worst-drafted” section in the state budget, because it’s full of loose ends. It’s half-baked…at best.

Decisions are being left up to the NCDOT and its Ferry Division, with instructions to “work it out.”

A July 8 editorial in the Carteret County News-Times, published in Morehead City, N.C., sounded the alarm: “This premature decision by the legislature is a continuation of a serious disconnect between the leadership in Raleigh that is influenced by Piedmont legislators who see the coast as their playground, not as a valuable resource that sets the state apart from the others.”

The News-Times editorial continued: “North Carolina’s coast has a rich culture, history and economy that deserve greater respect....Failure on the part of the legislature to acknowledge the vital role the ferries play in the local economies as well as that of the state, is an indication of a divide between the financially well-off regions of the state and the others that are struggling to keep pace with rapid growth.”

“This division and diminished respect for the coast cannot continue.”

So, here we are…in countdown mode to “ferry tolling time” on Jan. 1, facing a ton of uncertainties. As Carteret County’s legendary storyteller Rodney Kemp would put it, “we’re in a scape.”

Someone who has given this subject a lot of thought is Joy Crist, editor of the Island Free Press, based in Hatteras, N.C. 

She says that implementing the new ferry tolls “may be technically possible, but experiences in North Carolina and other states suggest that implementing a permanent, fully integrated tolling system would require more time” than just a few months.

Her focus, obviously, is on the Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry service. Crist said: “It could cost millions of dollars before the state collects its first toll on the currently free Hatteras-Ocracoke crossing, while creating another staffing challenge for a ferry route that has repeatedly struggled to fill positions.”

“The law does not establish individual fares, specify whether drivers will pay online or at terminals, require toll booths or electronic collection, or explain how vehicles will be identified and charged on routes that have never collected fares before.”

Crist said NCDOT must “select a collection method, establish rates, identify vehicle classes and exemptions, procure equipment, modify software, install electrical and communications connections, train employees, test the system…and explain it to the public.”

Futhermore, the law provides no additional funding to create toll-collection positions or hire employees to administer the new program.

In short, the whole thing is unfolding as a major mess.

What if cost of implementing ferry tolls exceeds revenue?

Part 3 in a Series

Much of the conversation surrounding the North Carolina General Assembly’s decision to impose a toll on all state ferries, effective Jan. 1, 2027, centers around the Ocracoke-Hatteras route, and rightfully so. 

You can’t just drive to Ocracoke. Getting there (as well as leaving) requires a ferry boat ride.

 

What we do know is that the N.C. Department of Transportation (NCCOT) Ferry Division intends to sell permanent residents in 20 coastal counties as well as active-duty military personnel an annual ferry pass for $150. But that’s about it, as the rest of the details are pretty much still up in the air.

The Ferry Division has scheduled five public “listening sessions” in communities close to the ferries where the new tolling requirement will be imposed. Division staff will be present to receive public comments, hear concerns and address questions. All the meetings will be from 6-8 p.m. Dates and locations are:

Sept. 1 – Beaufort County Community College, 5337 U.S. 264 East, Washington, in Beaufort County.

 

Sept. 2 – Pamlico Community College – Delamar Center, 5049 N.C. 306 South, Grantsboro, in Pamlico County.

 

Sept. 3 – Knotts Island Elementary School, 413 Woodleigh Road, Knotts Island, in Currituck County.

 

Sept. 8 – Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum, 59200 Museum Drive, Hatteras, in Dare County.

 

Sept. 9 – Ocracoke School, 120 Schoolhouse Road, Ocracoke, in Hyde County.

 

The Ferry Division’s announced timeline to develop the policies, rate recommendations, payment and collection systems and infrastructure needed to implement the new tolling program is described as “aggressive,” with several “required milestones” before implementation.

Division staff will present the proposed tolling plan, including the methodology and recommended rates, to the N.C. Board of Transportation at its Oct. 8 meeting.

Ferry leaders will return to the board on Nov. 5 seeking approval of the tolling policy and rate structure before launching the new program.

 The NCDOT will report to state legislators on the new tolling system by Dec. 1 – one month before new toll implementation.

The new tolls will affect riders on four vehicle ferry routes: Currituck-Knotts Island, Bayview-Aurora, Hatteras-Ocracoke and Cherry Branch-Minnesott Beach.

Many, many people are skeptical that all the tolling arrangements can be made in time to meet the arbitrary Jan. 1 deadline. 

Add to this a “real concern” that has been expressed by representatives with two separate organizations – the Ocracoke Access Alliance (OAA) and the Ocracoke Civic and Business Association (OCBA).

 

They are worried whether the revenue generated will even cover the cost of collecting the tolls.

The OAA has a simple objective: “to keep Ocracoke connected, thriving and accessible for everyone who calls it home or comes to experience its beauty.” 

The group has sent a letter to every legislator asking that the tolling be delayed for a year to provide a more realistic timeframe to set up a program.

Justin LeBlanc, OAA executive director, says the toll amount chosen for the Hatteras-Ocracoke run could significantly affect Ocracoke’s economy and needs to be based on a scientific formula, not a number pulled out of a hat.

 

“Whether the charge ultimately is $10, $20 or more per vehicle, the toll will ultimately discourage some people from visiting, affecting lodging establishments, restaurants, shops and other businesses that depend heavily on tourism.”

Bob Chestnut, chair of the OCBA, said there are too many unanswered questions, and people are edgy.

 

“How much will the toll be? How will it be collected? Will emergency vehicles receive exemptions? Will Ocracoke residents and property owners receive additional accommodations? And perhaps most importantly, will the General Assembly agree to postpone implementation long enough for those questions to be resolved?”

Let’s pause the state ferry tolling frenzy…until data is in

Part 2 of a Series

Credit North Carolina’s coastal news media outlets for sending out early alerts about the new state requirement that will slap tolls on all of the N.C. Department of Transportation Ferry Division routes, effective Jan. 1, 2027.

 

The provision was slipped into the new state budget bill by certain state senate leaders at the “eleventh hour” without rhyme nor reason. 

The maneuvering was detected by Sen. Bobby Hanig of Currituck County and Sen. Norman Sanderson of Pamlico County, who raised a last-minute fuss that was basically ignored.

Sen. Hanig said he strongly believes the ferries “are, by all accounts, a part of the North Carolina highway system,” and personally, he “believes no North Carolina citizen should have to pay a toll to ride on a ferry.”

“Now we’re going to tax the hardworking people of eastern North Carolina to go to work, go to school, go to doctor’s appointments,” he said. “I made a promise to my constituents a long time ago that I would not vote for a ferry tax,” Hanig said.

He also questioned: What’s the rush to implement tolls by Jan. 1, in advance of two important studies related to the ferry system?

The Ferry Division is well into an comprehensive economic impact study that is being conducted by the Institute for Transportation Research and Education at North Carolina State University.

 

The study is intended to help the division better understand the needs and experiences of passengers on each route. Public surveys are being accepted through Dec. 31 – one day before the toll mandate takes effect. 

Let’s wait for the findings.

It’s also noteworthy that the General Assembly approved, and Gov. Josh Stein signed, House Bill 1094 directing the State Auditor’s office to conduct a broad financial performance audit of the Ferry Division. 

“The purpose is to examine operations, maintenance spending and budget practices, evaluate capital project activities and make suggestions for long-term strategies to maximize revenue and reduce costs.”

Additionally, the audit will evaluate the current route system and potential routes and recommend any adjustments, also to maximize revenue and reduce costs. The auditor must deliver a report to lawmakers by Jan. 15, 2027.

North Carolina Auditor Dave Boliek

As the Carteret County News-Times, published in Morehead City, N.C., commented in an editorial on July 8, wouldn’t it “be better to review the results of the audit to determine where savings might be found as well as conclusions regarding the value and importance of the ferry system” before imposing new tolls on ferry users?

Something is not adding up here. Why bother with the time, effort and expense of an audit, if the data are not going to factored into the process?

More thought especially needs to be given to the unique situation of Ocracoke Island, and the “free ferry” to Hatteras Island.

Sen. Sanderson says a state statute already on the books may “prevent” tolling that route, requiring residents and guests with one “free pathway” to exit Ocracoke.

Peter Vankevich, co-publisher of the Ocracoke Observer (shown above), reported that Randal Mathews, chair of the Hyde County Board of Commissioners (shown below), has had intense conversations Tess Judge of Kill Devil Hills, a member of the N.C. Board of Transportation, about the tight timeline for developing the tolling system.

Tess Judge

Vankevich said: “The Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry has long been viewed as the waterborne extension of N.C. Highway 12, rather than as simply another ferry route. That distinction explains why it has remained toll-free for decades.”

“State highway funds – including fuel tax revenues – have traditionally supported ferry operations, just as they support roads and bridges throughout North Carolina.”

  

N.C. ferries told to implement new toll system in 2027

Part 1 of a Series

North Carolina’s General Assembly has gone off and done it again – “a’messin’ where they shouldn’t ‘ve been a’messin’” – borrowing from the lyrics of the hit song written by Lee Hazlewood in 1965 and performed by Nancy Sinatra…“These Boots Are Made for Walkin.’”

 

The new state budget includes a requirement to charge tolls on all state ferries, effective Jan. 1, 2027. 

Eliminating the “free state ferry” routes in eastern North Carolina is not only a bad decision, the start date appears to be totally unrealistic.

The ruling, if left unchanged, puts the State of North Carolina on a course to encounter a huge “train wreck at sea.”

Coastal community leaders and local elected officials are pleading for at least a one-year extension. It’s a reasonable request, given all the hurdles that the N.C. Department of Transportation and its Ferry Division must jump over to meet an arbitrary deadline established by the General Assembly.

 

This is a complicated ball of wax, with many tentacles to boot. North Carolina got into the ferry business in 1947, when it began taking over private ferry services. The system has grown steadily over the years, and now North Carolina has the second-largest state-operated ferry system in the nation, serving nearly 2 million passengers a year, trailing only the State of Washington.

 

Today, North Carolina maintains seven regular ferry routes that routinely transport both passengers and their vehicles. 

Three have tolls: Cedar Island-Ocracoke; Swan Quarter-Ocracoke; and Southport-Fort Fisher.

Four do not: Hatteras-Ocracoke; Cherry Branch-Minnesott Beach; Currituck-Knotts Island; and Bayview-Aurora. This will change when these routes will implement tolls in 2027. 

Legislators wrote the ferry tolls language into the $34 billion budget bill that was passed July 2, 2026, and signed five days later by Gov. Josh Stein.

There are all sorts of contradictions at play here, and an editorial in the Carteret (N.C.) County News-Times on July 8 touched on a number of them.

Additionally, Gareth McGrath of the Wilmington (N.C.) Star-News, pointed out that the state ferries have traditionally been regarded as an extension of the state’s transportation network – “maritime highways that play the same role for local residents and the coastal economy as traditional asphalt roads and bridges do in the rest of the state.”

Coastal residents and officials assert that the ferries are “vital to small, isolated communities where waterborne transport is the only way to get around,” McGrath said.

They say the ferries are “an extension of the state-run road system that happens to travel over water instead of land, and the ferries should be supported by the state gas tax and registration fees just like other parts of North Carolina’s highway network,” he added.

 

Strong objections were raised by coastal legislators Sen. Bobby Hanig of Currituck County (show above) and Sen. Norman Sanderson of Pamlico County (shown below), but their voices fell on deaf ears.

 

The News-Times editorial pointed out that Sen. Vicki Sawyer of Iredell County argues that the ferry system serves only a small percentage of the state’s population.

 

The editorialist said that Sen. Sawyer lives in the Piedmont, in a “county that is surrounded by major metro markets, predominantly Charlotte-Mecklenburg, where the state has been investing tax dollars to incentivize large multi-national companies to locate in that region.”

“So, her complaint that the state is using taxpayer funds to underwrite the operations of the state’s ferry division is hypocritical – ‘taxpayer support for me but not for thee.’”

Sen. Hanig said the tolling requirement was adopted with “no plan” for implementation, and it’s going to “a bunch of hiccups,” in getting it done.

Boone celebrates ‘Doc Watson Day’ Aug. 14

Updating a previously published column:

Born in 1923, the late Doc Watson became one of North Carolina’s music industry trailblazers.

Raised in Watauga County’s Stony Fork community near Deep Gap, Arthel Lane Watson, was the son of farmers General Dixon Watson and Nancy Annie Greene Watson. Both parents were musically inclined. He directed the local church choir; she was a talented gospel vocalist.

Arthel suffered a rare eye infection as an infant that caused him to go blind. He would later say: “I’d think learning to play the guitar would be very confusing for sighted people.”

He got the nickname Doc early in his career. During a live radio show performance, the announcer suggested that “this musician named Arthel needs a nickname.”

Someone in the audience shouted: “Call him Doc!” – as in Doctor Watson, the sidekick of detective Sherlock Holmes of Scotland Yard (fictional characters created in 1887 by British author Arthur Conan Doyle).

Obviously, the name stuck with Doc Watson for his entire life. (He died in 2012, at age 89.)

The North Carolina House of Representatives wants the state to recognize “Doc Watson Day” every March 3 (his birthday). 

Legislation was introduction in 2023 to applaud Doc Watson as “a guitarist, banjoist, singer and songwriter of bluegrass, country, folk, roots and gospel music, renowned for his fingerpicking and flatpicking skills.”

“Doc Watson’s musical career spanned more than half a century and is most positively identified with his promoting and preserving Appalachian and old-time folk music,” the bill sponsors wrote. 

(The proposal sailed through the House, with a unanimous 107-0 vote. The Senate has yet to consider the bill.)

Doc Watson won seven Grammy Awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004.

David Holt of Gatesville, Texas, who accompanied Doc Watson on stage from 1998-2012, commented: “If I had to choose one mentor who I have learned the most from it would be Doc Watson. I consider him my ‘musical father.’”

 

“Doc Watson was an American folk legend who left an amazing legacy of music and stories. Hailed as one the country’s greatest folk musicians, Doc carved an indelible mark into American music and culture,” Holt said.

“To be recognized as a national treasure by President Jimmy Carter, honored with the National Medal of the Arts by President Bill Clinton and given an honorary doctorate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill attests to him being a fine musician and entertainer,” he said.

“Doc Watson received these accolades not only for his talent but for the honor, integrity, humility, grace and dignity that he displayed throughout his long and distinguished career. While there are many, many great guitar players and singers; there was only one Doc Watson,” Holt concluded.

Doc Watson married Rosa Lee Carlton of Deep Gap in 1947. Her father, Gaither Wiley Carlton, was a big-time fiddle player. He and Doc hit it off, and they often performed together.

Doc and Rosa Lee had two children. Daughter Nancy Ellen Watson was named “within the family,” but son Eddy Merle Watson was named after music industry titans who Doc admired most – Eddy Arnold and Merle Travis.

The boy went by Merle Watson. He was the heir apparent who died too young. Merle was 36 when he was killed in a tragic tractor accident in 1985. It was a bizarre occurrence. Merle was driving a farm tractor when he lost control of the vehicle on a hillside. It rolled over and he was crushed to death beneath the tractor.

Doc had nurtured Merle, and the father-and-son duo had performed together for many years. Merle was a gifted guitarist and banjo player. They had perfected their act and routine, much to the delight of the audiences they entertained.

 

Their faith and love led Doc and Rosa Lee to establish MerleFest in 1988 as an annual event staged in April on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro in memory of their son. Proceeds benefit the college’s foundation.

The four-day musical extravaganza typically attracts some 75,000 music fans who come for the “music, moments and memories.”

MerleFest celebrates what Doc Watson termed “traditional plus” music. He explained: “When Merle and I started out, we called our music ‘traditional plus,’ meaning the traditional music of the Appalachian region…plus whatever other styles we were in the mood to play.” The venue features 12 stages and a plethora of musicians.

MerleFest’s mascot is Flattop, a raccoon character who was associated with Merle Watson’s band Frosty Morn. The group often was the opening act for Doc and Merle.

One who continues to sing Doc Watson’s praises is Dolly Parton, who said: “Doc Watson was everyone’s hero and a great guitar player. Some say he was the absolute best, and I was honored to get to work with him a few times in my career.”

A relatively new tradition that began in 2011 is the annual observance of “Doc Watson Day” in Boone, the county seat of Watauga County. 

It’s a huge concert on the lawn of the Jones House Cultural Center in the downtown district that occurs Aug. 14.