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.
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