Residents of Hyde County are awaiting a decision from the state General Assembly regarding the elimination of ferry tolls.

North Carolina Sen. Bill Cook is the second representative of Hyde County — and Beaufort County — to file a bill in favor of eliminating the tolls.

Cook, along with Sen. Norman Sanderson, filed Senate Bill 812 on May 4.

Senate Bill 812 would remove tolls from three ferry routes and prevent any from being levied for the four other routes, if passed. The bill would appropriate an additional $23 million for vessel replacement, as well.

Rep. Paul Tine recently introduced a similar bill to eliminate ferry tolls in the House of Representatives. House Bill 1002, also known as the Ferry System Stabilization Act, would allow concessions and advertising on ferries, starting July 1, if passed.

The Stabilization Act also appropriates about $13.85 million for capital expenses within the ferry system.

Tine said the bills are essentially a new spending plan proposal, and he thinks it would greatly benefit residents of Hyde County, as well as Beaufort.

“We don’t collect nearly enough in ferry tolls,” he said.

Tine said the idea behind the proposed legislation follows the legislature’s attempts over the past several years to reassess its investments in infrastructure and transportation.

“The one place we haven’t dealt with our capital investment is the Ferry Division,” he said.

The N.C. Department of Transportation’s Ferry Division consists of seven ferry routes, one emergency route, 21 vessels, 12 terminals, a shipyard and four maintenance shops. It is the second largest system in the nation, according to the NCDOT website.

Beaufort County is part of one ferry route (Aurora-Bayview), and Hyde County is part of two (Swan Quarter-Ocracoke and Cedar Island-Ocracoke).

State legislators have grappled back and forth over the years regarding ferry tolls, including decisions to raise toll prices on the Swan Quarter-Ocracoke route.

Most recently, legislators such as Tine and Cook have expressed their opinion that revenue would be better managed via other avenues besides ferry tolls. If passed, the legislation would give the state the responsibility to maintain the ferries and pull revenue from other places.

“Even if all the ferry routes were tolled, at current levels, the resulting revenue would not go far in offsetting the significant cost of running and making capital improvements to the ferry system,” Cook said in a press release. “I will continue to advocate for responsible alternatives to ferry tolling on behalf of the constituents in Senate District 1.”

“It’s just more consistent,” Tine said. “The people of Hyde are very supportive of this initiative.”

“It wouldn’t affect their operations in any way,” he added.