By Connie Leinbach
As of Jan. 1, the N.C. Ferry Division has stopped allowing free passes on the toll ferries for residents going to medical appointments.
Tim Hass, Ferry Division spokesman, confirmed this move in an email, noting that while the medical appointments and education exemptions had been allowed in the past, “We did not have authority to exempt them.”
But recent work with their legal team on this led to this change to ensure compliance.
“Over time, several toll exemptions had been allowed administratively, including for medical appointments and education related travel,” he said. “Upon review, NCDOT determined that these particular exemptions were not supported by statutory authority or formal policy approval, even though they had been extended in practice for many years.”
He said that the policy changes align ferry toll exemptions with those that are either:
- Explicitly authorized in NC General Statutes, such as Evacuation and Emergency Events – G.S. 136-82(b2), or Court Ordered Appearances – G.S. 7A.312(a).
- Formally approved as part of the DOT’s operational authority and oversight to operate the state’s ferry system, as well as toll actions that require and receive approval from the Board of Transportation (BOT).
As part of this alignment, passes to see doctors lacked that authority and were discontinued to ensure consistency, transparency and compliance going forward, Hass said.
Under the DOT’s statutory authority to operate the ferry system, vehicles operated by Ferry Division employees traveling to and from their assigned workstations as part of ferry operations are not charged tolls.
“This is considered an operational function necessary to maintain ferry service, not a discretionary toll exemption,” he said.
An example of BOT-approved exemption is for children age three and under on the passenger only Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry.
Medical passes were granted for vehicles and passengers for physician visits using both vehicle ferries and the passenger-only Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry.
“The only waiver on the toll ferries is for jury duty,” Bob Chestnut, chair of the Ocracoke Civic & Business Association, said in an interview. He also said tht he and the Ocracoke Access Alliance are looking into how this waiver, as well as waivers for school buses and seniors, could be legislatively sanctioned.
In 2025, 297 spaces were granted and in 2024, 258 spaces were granted, Hass said.
Service for most of North Carolina’s seven ferry routes is free, but fares are charged for service on the popular Cedar Island-Ocracoke and Swan Quarter-Ocracoke routes as well as the Southport-Fort Fisher route and the Ocracoke Express (Hatteras-Ocracoke) passenger ferry route.
