A White House-appointed commission of military spouses floated the idea of cutting or eliminating the tolls that some service members pay when commuting to work.
The policy was recommended at a live meeting this week with members of the White House’s Military Spouse Commission, which was established in August to explore policies that impact military families. Commission officials announced that troops at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, received a 50% reduction in toll fees, equating to $1,500 in savings each year for service members who take that route onto base.
Chairwoman of the council, Jennifer Hegseth, who is married to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, said they’re looking to use it as a “template” and expand toll reduction efforts to other military bases across the U.S.
It’s unclear how many service members pay tolls to commute to work. Nearly two-thirds of service members live off base in local communities across the U.S.
“There are some different challenges with that because toll roads are operated differently in each state, or even within a state, by some private, some public, and of course we need the governor’s assistance too,” Jennifer Hegseth said. “But we are going to work diligently through both of those to try to get these done.”
The Pentagon declined to comment on Task & Purpose’s questions about the MacDill policy and its potential expansion.
“We have nothing to announce regarding the initiatives highlighted by the White House Military Spouse Commission,” a Defense Department official said in a statement.
MacDill toll changes impact troops in nearby suburbs
At MacDill, active duty and active Reserve troops are eligible for toll relief, according to Terry Montrose, a spokesperson for the base. Montrose said the toll cuts have been an issue that the base has talked about for years, but that it came to fruition this past year.
The policy mostly impacts service members who live in Brandon or Riverview, two suburbs outside of Tampa that lead to a specific interstate on the way to MacDill, Montrose said, estimating that more than half of troops assigned to the base live in those areas.
Montrose said MacDill’s housing is limited on the base with an ongoing waiting list. The base, which sits on a peninsula south of downtown Tampa, has roughly 500 military family homes and 500 dorms for single airmen on base. The base has a military population of more than 7,600, according to the base website.
Jennifer Hegseth said they’ve reduced the MacDill commuter tolls by 50%, but are working with the local toll company to “try to get that to zero.”
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“It’s a program we put a lot of work into to ensure the service members benefited with as little work on their end as possible,” Greg Slater, CEO of the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority, said. “MacDill is such a part of our ecosystem here in Tampa Bay, we do everything in our power to support them and the families.”
Troops can sign up for the benefit when THEA officials come to base.
“They bring two employees out here, and they set up in the [base exchange] food court. We send out a base-wide public service announcement saying, ‘Hey, THEA’s here to register you for toll relief,’” Montrose said. “The line forms over the food court, and then they work through whatever process they have over there, and people sign up.”
Military-related toll reduction policies are not completely new. A number of states have laws that cut tolls for veterans and recipients of certain military awards. In California, veterans can get up to 100% off on highway, bridge and fast-lane tolls if they were awarded a Purple Heart, Medal of Honor, or are designated as a Pearl Harbor survivor or disabled veteran by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
In New Jersey, the state legislature is currently debating a bill that would extend 50% road toll cuts to active duty service members, veterans and Gold Star family members.
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