GALVESTON COUNTY, Texas – Fraud and abuse of medical passes have Texas Department of Transportation officials rethinking who gets priority boarding on the Galveston-Bolivar ferry.

The department is planning on replacing paper medical passes with an online system to better control access and reduce misuse. Officials say old paper passes and cards may soon be phased out.

Feds seize over 300,000 kilos of meth precursor chemicals at Port of Houston in record-breaking bust

The medical passes were originally designed to help residents of the Bolivar Peninsula get quicker access to medical facilities on Galveston Island. But some riders have been using the passes like VIP passes to cut the line for errands, work, or simply to get home faster.

Shannon Gibson, a ferry rider, said wait times ca

See Full Page