Rep. Bill Cook, R-Beaufort, joined his Democratic colleague, Sen. Stan White, D-Dare, in opposing proposed new or increased ferry tolls in North Carolina.

The toll hikes are tucked into the developing state budget.
Cook said he favors charging some level of tolls to ferry riders, and he didn’t take his opposition as far as White, who asserted free ferry routes should stay free.
The House budget, approved by that body, now is in the Senate’s hands.
Cook voted for the House budget, which would elevate tolls, but, in an interview this week, the lawmaker indicated he’s displeased with the idea of charging local residents $10 per trip to ride currently free ferries, especially those used by commuters.
He referenced the one Beaufort County ferry, for which there is no charge to riders. This route would suffer people to pay a $10-per-trip toll if the budget plan holds.
The Aurora-Bayview ferry across the Pamlico River is traveled by tourists, but also by motorists who want to get to and from work without driving to the western part of the county and looping around Washington.
“Most of those people have a good job and can afford a small fee, but I don’t think it should be a $10, $20 fee at all,” Cook said. “I think it should be a much smaller fee.”
Last week, White told the Washington Daily News that two Republican Senate leaders had informed him a House-crafted exemption on tolling the Ocracoke-to-Hatteras ferry had been removed from the Senate spending blueprint.
White represents Beaufort County and seven other northeast counties in the Senate.
He spoke against a GOP-led House budget provision for charging people to ride ferries that are now free and raising tolls where they already exist.
“I just find trouble understanding why people don’t think that the ferry system is a part of the highway system and those people that use those ferries are not entitled to the same privilege as people that drive highways in other parts of the state,” White said last week.
Cook also came out against the tolling proposal, though he didn’t agree that people shouldn’t be charged to ride ferries.
“I think those ferries that there’s no other way to get from Point B to Point A should be free,” said Cook, who represents Beaufort County and a slice of northeast Pitt County in the House.
“And I think those folks who have to use the ferry in their daily lives should get a very large break and not pay,” Cook continued. “I think ferries should not be free. There’s an opportunity for the state to offset the large costs of ferries by the fees that tourists will pay for those ferries. I don’t think that the fees that we’re going to charge are anywhere near what they charge up north.”
Asked about the specifics of tolling, Greer Beaty, spokeswoman for the N.C. Department of Transportation, said the department doesn’t have all the answers — yet.
“Once the General Assembly has passed their budget and has determined and set for us our path, we are going to do our due diligence, do our research and do what we can to follow the law as quickly and as effectively as possible,” Beaty commented.
DOT is conducting a utilization study of the ferry system, according to Beaty. The study was initiated before the General Assembly’s session began.
Once a consultant finishes the study, DOT will have a better idea of how, and how often, people use the state’s ferries, Beaty said.
DOT says its Ferry Division operates the second-largest ferry system in the United States. The system comprises 21 ferries traveling seven routes.
These ferries move almost 2.5 million people annually, DOT notes.
The Ferry Division has an annual budget of around $40 million.