Peach Pass Now Works In Florida And North Carolina

The cost to Georgia will be minimal. 

State Road & Tollway Authority Executive Director Christopher Tomlinson says it might cost the state just a few million dollars to connect the Peach Pass to the 34 other states where toll lanes exist.

“We see significant traffic from North Carolina and of course, our Southern border, is entirely with Florida,” Tomlinson says. “And so because they had toll roads, we figured that was the best place to start.” 

The state has some big plans for the Peach Pass. Right now, it only works on I-85 express lanes. That’s only about 16 miles in all of Georgia.  

But Tomlinson says the state DOT is getting ready to add about 52 miles of toll lanes. They’ll be in Cobb, Gwinnet, Henry and Clayton counties.

“I’m not sure how popular tolls are anywhere, but they are popular in terms of its usage,” Tomlinson says. “We’ve seen steady increases in usage since we’ve opened three years ago.”

He says more than 20,000 people use the I-85 express lanes in Atlanta every day. And the number of people who have the Peach Pass has almost quadrupled in just three years.

Toll Lanes As New Revenue 

There’s less money from the government to build roads, so states are looking to public-private partnerships and bonds to build toll lanes and new infrastructure.

North Carolina spent $55,000 to make its Quick Pass program interchangeable with Florida’s Sun Pass and Georgia’s Peach Pass. Michelle Muir is Director of Customer Service with the North Carolina Turnpike Authority.

“North Carolina’s just very excited to have a partnership with Georgia to help both of our residents and to be great neighbors and to extend Southern Hospitality in forms of payment to our toll roads,” Muir says.

The Peach Pass will be cheaper for drivers using the lanes – instead of paying the cash rate, you’ll pay the discounted toll rate.

If you’re using a Pay n GO! Peach Pass – the sticker you can load up with cash from a Walgreens or CVS – you will have to register your license plate before you can use it in North Carolina or Florida.